Influence of Plant Abundance on Nectar Feeding by Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in Southern Mexico

Abstract

The availability of flowering plants affected the sugar feeding rates of female Aedes aegypti (L.) in 4 areas of a small city in southern Mexico. The proportion of mosquitoes containing sugar varied from 8 to 21% in 4 areas in direct relation to blooming plant abundance. Human density was similar in the 4 areas (range, 3.9-5.4 per house), whereas the number of flowering plants per house increased on the outskirts (range, 3.1-5.4 plants per house). Equal proportions of sugar positive females were nulliparous or parous, indicating similar sugar feeding at any age. In addition, nearly 60% of positive females were at the Christophers stage II, indicating a greater need for flight fuel during the early stages of egg development. We conclude that Ae. aegypti feeds frequently on nectar and that this activity is modulated by nectar availability.

Microclimate and Human Factors in the Divergent Ecology of Aedes aegypti along the Arizona, U.S./Sonora, MX Border

“…Young adult female Ae. aegypti may preferentially feed on carbohydrates from flowering vegetation before host seeking, or vegetation litter and/or detritus may replenish larval food sources (Magnarelli, 1978, Martinez-Ibarra et al, 1997, Carpenter, 1982, Barrera et al, 2006. The pre-monsoon collection period was after the spring and before the summer flowering seasons suggesting that vegetation provided minimal food benefits to adult Ae.…”

Nectar-related vs. human-related volatiles: behavioural response and choice by female and male Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) between emergence and first feeding

“…The proportion of female A. aegypti containing plant sugar increased from 8% to 21% with increasing distance from urban centres in southern Mexico, perhaps because of a greater diversity of sugar sources in outlying zones (Martinez-Ibarra et al, 1997), and sugar-containing females comprised 50-75% of the population in rural areas of Florida, USA, where humans may be less readily available (Nayar, 1981;Van Handel et al, 1994). In A. gambiae s.l., even around houses the fructose-positive rate was 17.5% of hostseeking females in one village in western Kenya (Beier, 1996), and in The Gambia up to 30% of females resting indoors contained fluid in their crops (A.W.R.…”

Environmental characteristics of the cemeteries of Buenos Aires City (Argentina) and infestation levels of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

“…The adults feed on nectar depending on its availability (Martinez-Ibarra et al 1997), whereas the females need to ingest blood to oviposit (Clements 1992). They select shaded places and dumps for resting and ovipositing (PAHO 1995).…”