How often are male mosquitoes attracted to humans?
Many mosquito species live close to humans where females feed on human blood. While male mosquitoes do not feed on blood, it has long been recognized that males of some species can be attracted to human hosts. To investigate the frequency of male mosquito attraction to humans, we conducted a literat...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230921 |
| _version_ | 1797649898978410496 |
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| author | Véronique Paris Christopher Hardy Ary A. Hoffmann Perran A. Ross |
| author_facet | Véronique Paris Christopher Hardy Ary A. Hoffmann Perran A. Ross |
| author_sort | Véronique Paris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many mosquito species live close to humans where females feed on human blood. While male mosquitoes do not feed on blood, it has long been recognized that males of some species can be attracted to human hosts. To investigate the frequency of male mosquito attraction to humans, we conducted a literature review and human-baited field trials, as well as laboratory experiments involving males and females of three common Aedes species. Our literature review indicated that male attraction to humans is limited to a small number of species, including Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. In our human-baited field collections, only 4 out of 13 species captured included males. In laboratory experiments, we found that male Ae. notoscriptus and Ae. vigilax showed no attraction to humans, while male Ae. aegypti exhibited persistent attraction for up to 30 min. Both male and female Ae. aegypti displayed similar preferences for different human subjects, suggesting that male Ae. aegypti respond to similar cues as females. Additionally, we found that mosquito repellents applied to human skin effectively repelled male mosquitoes. These findings shed light on mosquito behaviour and have implications for mosquito control programmes, particularly those involving the release or monitoring of the male mosquito population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:53:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c1ed5affec84a54904fc80656adfea6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:53:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c1ed5affec84a54904fc80656adfea62023-10-25T12:36:05ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032023-10-01101010.1098/rsos.230921How often are male mosquitoes attracted to humans?Véronique Paris0Christopher Hardy1Ary A. Hoffmann2Perran A. Ross3School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, AustraliaCSIRO Environment, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, AustraliaSchool of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, AustraliaSchool of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, AustraliaMany mosquito species live close to humans where females feed on human blood. While male mosquitoes do not feed on blood, it has long been recognized that males of some species can be attracted to human hosts. To investigate the frequency of male mosquito attraction to humans, we conducted a literature review and human-baited field trials, as well as laboratory experiments involving males and females of three common Aedes species. Our literature review indicated that male attraction to humans is limited to a small number of species, including Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. In our human-baited field collections, only 4 out of 13 species captured included males. In laboratory experiments, we found that male Ae. notoscriptus and Ae. vigilax showed no attraction to humans, while male Ae. aegypti exhibited persistent attraction for up to 30 min. Both male and female Ae. aegypti displayed similar preferences for different human subjects, suggesting that male Ae. aegypti respond to similar cues as females. Additionally, we found that mosquito repellents applied to human skin effectively repelled male mosquitoes. These findings shed light on mosquito behaviour and have implications for mosquito control programmes, particularly those involving the release or monitoring of the male mosquito population.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230921Aedesdisease controlhost-seeking behaviourhuman-bait collection |
| spellingShingle | Véronique Paris Christopher Hardy Ary A. Hoffmann Perran A. Ross How often are male mosquitoes attracted to humans? Royal Society Open Science Aedes disease control host-seeking behaviour human-bait collection |
| title | How often are male mosquitoes attracted to humans? |
| title_full | How often are male mosquitoes attracted to humans? |
| title_fullStr | How often are male mosquitoes attracted to humans? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How often are male mosquitoes attracted to humans? |
| title_short | How often are male mosquitoes attracted to humans? |
| title_sort | how often are male mosquitoes attracted to humans |
| topic | Aedes disease control host-seeking behaviour human-bait collection |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230921 |
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