Evaluation of Compounds from Blood as Mosquito Attractants

Mentor: Sandra Allan

Project:   The purpose of this project was to devise a bioassay method and determine which compounds identified from beef blood serve as attractants for mosquitoes.  Arikia conducted still air bioassays to compare the landing and feeding responses of three species of mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex nigripalpus) to beef blood and water controls warmed to 40°C.   She optimized light, temperature and sugar-deprivation conditions for examining mosquito responses in the bioassay protocol.  Then, she evaluated responses to a range of compounds identified from blood over a range of concentrations.  Responses of mosquitoes to blood and water controls in a two-choice olfactometer confirmed that mosquitoes were responding to volatiles from the blood.  In bioassays, Aedes aegypti responded readily to the beef blood and several of the compounds; Cx. quinquefasciatus responded moderately and responses of Cx. nigripalpus were very low.  Levels of responses of the different species to beef blood appeared to reflect the published host preference of mammalian over avian hosts for each species.  None of the compounds examined were as effective as the blood controls in eliciting landing or feeding in any of the three species tested.  These studies serve the basis for future studies that will test additional compounds and mixtures of compounds.

Removing mosquitoes from a cage with a battery-operated aspirator.

Sorting and counting mosquitoes on a chill table to make sure that an equal number of female mosquitoes are added to each of the biassay cages.