To determine the host-feeding patterns of mosquitoes, blood-fed mosquitoes were collected by 5 di#erent methods from various places such as mountain forests, residential areas and animal sheds of the following 5 islands, Amamioshima, Tokunoshima, Iheyajima, Okinawajima and Iriomotejima in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan over a 6 yr period (2005ῌ2010). A total of 975 bloodmeals derived from bloodfed mosquitoes of 35 species representing 11 genera were successfully identified by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based method, and 34 vertebrate species were identified as the bloodmeal hosts. Our results indicate that mosquitoes of the same genus show similar host preferences when blood source animals are classified into 5 major groups; mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes. The genus Anopheles exhibited mammalophilic and Aedes exhibited mammalophilic, but Ae. (Geoskusea) baisasi Knight and Hull fed predominantly on fishes. Host preferences of the genus Culex were somewhat di#erent among subgenera. Subgenus Culex fed on warmblooded animals, including mammals and birds, whereas other subgenera fed on various hosts both warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals. The Uranotaenia species were amphibian-feeders and also fed on reptiles and fishes, but not on warm-blooded animals. Medical importance of mosquito species is discussed as related to their feeding patterns and transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.
Abstract:e utility of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) DNA barcoding for the identi cation of 37 mosquito species belonging to the genera Anopheles (6 spp.), Aedes (14 spp.) and Culex (17 spp.) including subspecies from nine islands of the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan was examined. A 658 bp fragment of the COI gene was sequenced from 228 specimens. Nucleotide sequence divergences were calculated using the Kimura-two parameter (K2P) distance model and a neighbor-joining (NJ) phylogenetic tree analysis was performed to provide a graphic display of the patterns in divergence among species. e mean intraspeci c variations of 35 species including the medically important vector species showed a less than 2 range with 0 1.5 divergences, but higher divergences of more than 2 were detected in Ae. aureostriatus okinawanus Bohart (2.2 ) and Cx. hayashii ryukyuanus Tanaka et al. (3.3 ). ey showed di erences in divergence between specimens from di erent islands. All 37 species were discriminated as distinct clusters in the NJ tree. e results in this study prove the utility of DNA barcoding for identi cation of mosquitoes from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan.
To know the blood meal in the stomach of Uranotaenia species, blood-fed mosquitoes were collected by 4 methods at different sites in the mountain forest of 3 islands, Amamioshima, Okinawajima, and Iriomotejima in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan from 2005 to 2012. One hundred twenty-four blood-fed Uranotaenia mosquitoes of 7 species (Ur. jacksoni, nivipleura, ohamai, yaeyamana, annandalei, lateralis, and macfarlanei) were collected. The collection rates are 0.26, 0.6, 0.31, and 0.66 by black light trap, black light blue with dry ice trap, frog call trap, and sweeping net, respectively. The blood meals of 107 females (86.3%) were successfully identified by a polymerase chain reaction-based method. All Uranotaenia species fed on cold-blooded animals, especially amphibians (99.1%), and notably on frogs. They would feed readily on available frogs in a given region having no close connection with the breeding (calling) season of each frog. They also fed on reptiles (0.9%), but not on warm-blooded animals.
A colony of Uranotaenia macfarlanei, a frog-feeding mosquito, was established in the laboratory. We report the bionomics of the species, as studied in the laboratory colony and in the field on Ryukyu Island, Japan. These include mating activity, feeding and resting habits, manner of oviposition, and egg, larval, and pupal periods.
The bionomics of the mud lobster-hole mosquito Aedes (Geoskusea) baisasi in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, was studied in the field and in the laboratory. The studies included the natural habitat, seasonal appearance, flight activity, mating behavior, resistance of eggs to desiccation, and breeding periods of the immature stages of this species. The burrow systems made by the mud lobster Thalassina anomala were excellent as breeding and resting habitats for both the immature and adult stages of the mosquito.
During an 11-year study period (1999-2010) on the islands of the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, 20 mosquito species were identified. The results revealed new records of species hitherto not reported on these islands. This contribution updates the mosquito fauna of the various islands of the Ryukyu Archipelago.
ABSTRACT. We studied the prevalence of avian Plasmodium in 509 mosquitoes of 9 species collected from the Ishigaki and Iriomote islands in the Yaeyama Archipelago, located southwest from the mainland of Japan. Two identical avian Plasmodium lineages were detected from Culex (Culiciomyia) nigropunctatus. Detected lineages were phylogenetically classified into different clade to avian Plasmodium lineages from birds and mosquitoes in the mainland of Japan but identical to a lineage detected from a resident bird, Whitebreasted Waterken (Amaurornis phoenicurus). This is the first detection of avian Plasmodium DNA from mosquitoes in the Yaeyama Archipelago and suggested that resident birds might have been infected with an avian Plasmodium lineage specific to the studied area and C. nigropunctatus could be the candidate vector mosquito species.
The susceptibility of three anopheline mosquitoes, Anopheles minimus Theobald, An. sinensis Wiedemann, and An. saperoi Bohart & Ingram, from the Ryukyu Archipelago to the rodent malaria, Plasmodium yoelii nigeriense was examined to find new vectors other than An. stephensi Liston for rodent malaria studies in the laboratory. The survival rate of the mosquitoes after feeding on mice infected with P. y. nigeriense was also examined. The Beech strain of An. stephensi from India was compared with An. minimus from Ishigaki Island, and An. sinensis and An. saperoi from Okinawa Island. Oocysts were first found on day 3 after feeding on mice infected with P. y. nigeriense in An. stephensi, on day 4 in An. minimus and An. saperoi, and day 6 in An. sinensis. From 8 to 14 d after feeding on malaria-positive mice, oocysts were present in 97.2-100% of An. stephensi, 85.7-100% of An. saperoi, 20-74.1% of An. minimus, and 12.5-13.3% of An. sinensis. The duration of oocyst occurrence in An. saperoi was 55 d, the longest among the anopheline mosquitoes used in this study. On day 8 after feeding, sporozoites were found in the salivary glands and heads of all the mosquitoes tested. From the 10th to 16th d, sporozoites were present in the salivary glands of 14.9% (range, 9.1-28.0%) of An. minimus, 47.3% (40.7-58.1) of An. saperoi, and 96.2% (94.1-97.2) of An. stephensi, but were absent in An. sinensis. Anopheles saperoi could be an excellent vector of P. y. nigeriense because it has comparatively high susceptibility and high longevity even after feeding on infected mice.
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