A blood-free protein meal supporting oogenesis in the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse)

• Published in: Journal of insect physiology Vol. 64; pp. 1 - 6
• Main Author: Jason Pitts, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2014
• Subjects: Aedes - physiology; Aedes albopictus; Animals; Blood; Blood meal; Blood-free formulation; Feeding Behavior - physiology; Female; Fertility; Hematophagy; Humans; Larva; Mass rearing; Oogenesis; Reproduction - physiology; Oogenesis; Mass rearing; Aedes albopictus; Blood-free formulation; Blood meal; Hematophagy
• ISSN: 0022-1910; 1879-1611
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2014.02.012

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•Female mosquitoes must acquire blood meals for egg development.•A simple protein formulation can substitute for blood in Aedes albopictus.•Similar formulations might be useful for mass rearing mosquitoes and other blood feeding species.
Female mosquitoes require blood meals to complete oogenesis, or egg development. Current methods of maintaining laboratory colonies of mosquitoes generally rely on the use of whole blood to feed females. Blood feeding protocols require special handling techniques, impart numerous potential health hazards, involve significant costs, and are widely variable in terms of their success rates. In this study, a simple protein formulation was provided to Aedes albopictus using a membrane feeding system. Under the experimental conditions tested, females readily accepted the blood-free meal and produced eggs in greater numbers than cohort females that were fed with whole human blood. Moreover, fertility was comparable between treatments and survivorship of hatched larvae was equal among feedings. This implies that a readily available blood-free meal could be utilized in the laboratory rearing of this species. The elimination of blood handling, reduced cost, and consistency of blood-free meals would potentially be advantageous to mosquito rearing facilities generally, and in terms of scale, to mass rearing facilities specifically.