The Effects of High-Altitude Windborne Migration on Survival, Oviposition, and Blood-Feeding of the African Malaria Mosquito, Anopheles gambiae s.l. (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

Recent results of high-altitude windborne mosquito migration raised questions about the viability of these mosquitoes despite ample evidence that many insect species, including other dipterans, have been known to migrate regularly over tens or hundreds of kilometers on high-altitude winds and retain their viability. To address these concerns, we subjected wild Anopheles gambiae s.l. Giles mosquitoes to a high-altitude survival assay, followed by oviposition (egg laying) and blood feeding assays. Despite carrying out the survival assay under exceptionally harsh conditions that probably provide the lowest survival potential following high altitude flight, a high proportion of the mosquitoes survived for 6- and even 11-h assay durations at 120- to 250-m altitudes. Minimal differences in egg laying success were noted between mosquitoes exposed to high altitude survival assay and those kept near the ground. Similarly, minimal differences were found in the female’s ability to take an additional bloodmeal after oviposition between these groups. We conclude that similar to other high-altitude migrating insects, mosquitoes are able to withstand extended high-altitude flight and subsequently reproduce and transmit pathogens by blood feeding on new hosts.

The African mosquito-borne diseasosome: Geographical patterns and range expansion

“…Indeed, an outbreak of the mechanically transmitted myxomatosis (caused by Myxoma virus) was attributed to windborne mosquitoes flying from Australia to Woody Island, a distance of 320 km (Garrett-Jones, 1950). This observation adds to others in support of pathogens transmitted by windborne mosquitoes over long distances (Garrett-Jones, 1962; Sellers, 1980; Kay & Farrow, 2000; Reynolds et al ., 2006; Huestis et al ., 2019; Sanogo et al ., 2021). These results suggest that the key features of the few exceptionally widespread MBPs include transmission among people or domestic animals, as well as adaptation to at least one of the exceptionally widespread mosquito vectors, and often to other mosquito vectors that may be important to maintain the virus in sylvatic cycles.…”

Time-Varying Effects of Meteorological Variables on Malaria Epidemiology in the Context of Interrupted Control Efforts in the Amazon Rainforest, 2000–2017

“…Changes in land cover due to human settlement may also alter the temperature and increase mosquito migration to non-endemic high altitudes, for example in Kenya ( 67 ). One study showed that mosquitoes carried by wind continued surviving, breeding, and feeding on human blood, potentially expanding malaria transmission to new altitudes ( 68 ).…”

Roads and forest edges facilitate yellow fever virus dispersion

“…Here, we hypothesize that wind may be an important factor for infected mosquito dispersion. There are several records of mosquitoes being carried considerable distances, as much as 177 km, by prevailing winds (Huestis et al, 2019;Sanogo et al, 2021).…”