Dancing in the purple rain: color affinity and oviposition choices in Aedes sierrensis (Diptera: Culicidae)

Dancing in the purple rain: color affinity and oviposition choices in Aedes sierrensis (Diptera: Culicidae)

The western tree hole mosquito, Aedes sierrensis (Ludlow) (Diptera: Clucidae), is a pestiferous mosquito with a range extending over the entire pacific seaboard and into portions of the intermountain west. As a peridomestic heartworm vector, it demands at least some level of surveillance to understa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental entomology Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 77 - 84
Main Authors: Bibbs, Christopher S., Casci, Kai, Widmer, Thomas D., Dewsnup, M. Andrew, Jay, Kaia, Meredith, Kirsten D., Faraji, Ary, Vickers, Neil J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: US Entomological Society of America 20-02-2024
Oxford University Press
Subjects:
Aedes
Animals
attractant
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
color
Female
infusion
Mosquito Vectors
Oviposition
ovitrap
Rain
vector
Water
attractant
ovitrap
vector
color
infusion
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Summary:The western tree hole mosquito, Aedes sierrensis (Ludlow) (Diptera: Clucidae), is a pestiferous mosquito with a range extending over the entire pacific seaboard and into portions of the intermountain west. As a peridomestic heartworm vector, it demands at least some level of surveillance to understand its abundance. However, the species is refractory to a majority of conventional vector surveillance approaches for tracking mosquitoes. To find more options for Aedes sierrensis surveillance, a variety of oviposition attractants were evaluated in arena-style choice assays using colony reared adults. A range of infusion treatments (e.g., alfalfa, oak, and beetroot) were examined and then combined with investigations of liquid color as well as ovicup color and entryway position. These studies revealed that Ae. sierrensis have an affinity for purple coloration, plain water, and larger entryway sizes for oviposition cups. A prototype ovicup was 3D-printed using purple filament and multiple types of entryways, and used to re-test infusion waters. No particular attraction differences were detected after normalizing for purple color. Comparisons to black 3D-printed cups yielded surprising observations that male mosquitoes also aggregated on purple cups while females sheltered, but not necessarily oviposited, in black cups. Although this was only a laboratory-based assessment, these studies provide useful information for future field trials of potential oviposition traps for surveillance of Ae. sierrensis.
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ISSN:0046-225X
1938-2936
DOI:10.1093/ee/nvad124