The effects of female age on blood-feeding, insemination, sperm storage, and fertility in the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae).

Mating induces behavioral and physiological changes in female insects-collectively referred to as the female post-mating response (PMR)-that facilitate the production of progeny. PMRs are elicited by transfer of male-derived seminal components during mating, but are altered by other factors, including adult age. Increased female age is often accompanied by declines in fertility. However, mating shortly after emergence also impacts fertility in the insect model Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we determined the age post-emergence when females of the vector mosquito Aedes aegypti can be inseminated and blood-feed. We next examined fecundity, fertility, and the storage of sperm in the female reproductive tract in "young" (30-41 hours-old) and "old" (2- and 3-week-old) females, finding that blood-feeding began at 14 hours, and mating at ∼24 hours post-emergence. Although young females consumed smaller blood quantities and stored fewer sperm, they were similarly fertile to 4-day-old controls. Old females, however, suffered significant declines in fecundity by 2 weeks of age. Our results show that female Ae. aegypti start to become sexually receptive 1 day after their emergence, but can ingest blood much sooner, suggesting that mating is not a prerequisite to blood-feeding, and that females can ingest an arbovirus infected blood-meal shortly after emergence.

wMel Wolbachia alters female post-mating behaviors and physiology in the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti.

Globally invasive Aedes aegypti disseminate numerous arboviruses that impact human health. One promising method to control Ae. aegypti populations is transinfection with Wolbachia pipientis, which naturally infects ~40-52% of insects but not Ae. aegypti. Transinfection of Ae. aegypti with the wMel Wolbachia strain induces cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), allows infected individuals to invade native populations, and inhibits transmission of medically relevant arboviruses by females. Female insects undergo post-mating physiological and behavioral changes-referred to as the female post-mating response (PMR)-required for optimal fertility. PMRs are typically elicited by male seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) transferred with sperm during mating but can be modified by other factors, including microbiome composition. Wolbachia has modest effects on Ae. aegypti fertility, but its influence on other PMRs is unknown. Here, we show that Wolbachia influences female fecundity, fertility, and re-mating incidence and significantly extends the longevity of virgin females. Using proteomic methods to examine the seminal proteome of infected males, we found that Wolbachia moderately affects SFP composition. However, we identified 125 paternally transferred Wolbachia proteins, but the CI factor proteins (Cifs) were not among them. Our findings indicate that Wolbachia infection of Ae. aegypti alters female PMRs, potentially influencing control programs that utilize Wolbachia-infected individuals.

Spatial and temporal population dynamics of male and female Aedes albopictus at a local scale in Medellín, Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Diseases transmitted by invasive Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are public health issues in the tropics and subtropics. Understanding the ecology of mosquito vectors is essential for the development of effective disease mitigation programs and will allow for accurate predictions of vector occurrence and abundance. Studies that examine mosquito population dynamics are typically focused on female presence or total adult captures without discriminating the temporal and spatial distribution of both sexes. METHODS: We collected immature and adult mosquitoes bimonthly for 2 years (2018-2019) in the Medellín Botanical Garden. Collection sites differed in proximity to buildings and nearby vegetation, and were classified by their overhead vegetation cover. We used linear mixed models (LMMs) and Spatial Analysis by Distance Indices (SADIE) to assess the spatial distribution of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Using our Ae. albopictus captures exclusively, we assessed (1) the spatial and temporal distribution of males and females using SADIE and a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), (2) the relationship between climatic variables/vegetation coverage and adult captures using GLMMs and LMMs, and (3) the correlation of male and female size in relation to climatic variables and vegetation coverage using LMMs. RESULTS: Spatial analysis showed that Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were distributed at different locations within the surveilled area. However, Ae. albopictus was the predominant species in the park during the study period. Adult Ae. albopictus captures were positively correlated with precipitation and relative humidity, and inversely correlated with temperature and wind speed. Moreover, we observed a spatial misalignment of Ae. albopictus males and females-the majority of males were located in the high vegetation coverage sites, while females were more evenly distributed. We observed significant associations of the size of our adult Ae. albopictus captures with precipitation, temperature, and wind speed for both sexes and found that overhead vegetation cover influenced male size, but observed no effect on female size. CONCLUSIONS: Our work elucidates the differential dynamics of Ae. albopictus males and females, which is pivotal to develop accurate surveillance and the successful establishment of vector control programs based on the disruption of insect reproduction.