Effect of Common Ornamental Plants on the Survivorship and Fecundity of the Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

doi:10.1653/024.102.0106

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 26 publications

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“…, Ligustrum quihoui , Pittosporum tobira , Loropetalum chinense ) have been shown to increase survivorship in Ae. albopictus and could therefore contribute to their ability to successfully transmit pathogens by increasing their overall fitness 22 . Moreover, ornamental plant abundance has been shown to directly affect the population distributions of both Ae.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sugar feeding by invasive mosquito species on ornamental and wild plants

Upshur,

Fehlman,

Parikh

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Feeding on plant-derived sugars is an essential component of mosquito biology, affecting key aspects of their lives such as survival, metabolism, and reproduction. Among mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are two invasive mosquito species in the US, and are vectors of diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya, and Zika. These species live in heavily populated, urban areas, where they have high accessibility to human hosts as well as to plants in backyards and public landscapes. However, the range of plants that are suitable sugar hosts for these species remains to be described, despite the importance of understanding what plants may attract or repel mosquitoes to inform citizens and municipal authorities accordingly. Here, we tested whether Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus would sugar-feed on eleven commonly planted ornamental plant species. We confirmed feeding activity using the anthrone method and identified the volatile composition of plant headspace using gas-chromatography mass-spectroscopy. These chemical analyses revealed that a broad range of olfactory cues are associated with plants that mosquitoes feed on. This prompted us to use plant DNA barcoding to identify plants that field-caught mosquitoes feed on. Altogether, results show that native and invasive mosquito species can exploit a broader range of plants than originally suspected, including wild and ornamental plants from different phyla throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall seasons.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sugar feeding by invasive mosquito species on ornamental and wild plants

Upshur,

Fehlman,

Parikh

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Sugar feeding by invasive mosquito species on ornamental and wild plants

Upshur

Fehlman

Parikh

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Feeding on plant-derived sugars is an essential component of mosquito biology that affects key aspects of their lives such as survival, metabolism, and reproduction. Mosquitoes locate plants to feed on using olfactory and visual cues. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are two invasive mosquito species to the US, and are vectors of diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya, and Zika. These species live in heavily populated, urban areas, where they have a high accessibility to human hosts as well as to plants in backyards and town landscapes. Therefore, it is important to understand what plants may attract or repel mosquitoes to inform citizens and municipal authorities accordingly. Here, we analyzed Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus sugar-feeding behavior with eleven different commonly planted ornamental plant species. We then assessed feeding activity using the anthrone method and identified volatile composition of plant headspace using gas-chromatography mass-spectroscopy. Finally, we determined the sugar-feeding activity of field caught mosquitoes using the plant DNA barcoding technique and compared these results with the eleven ornamental species tested in the laboratory. The potential for application to disease vector control is also discussed.

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Effect of Common Ornamental Plants on the Survivorship and Fecundity of the Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 2 publications

References 26 publications

Sugar feeding by invasive mosquito species on ornamental and wild plants

Sugar feeding by invasive mosquito species on ornamental and wild plants

Sugar feeding by invasive mosquito species on ornamental and wild plants

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