U.S. Department of Defense
Date of this Version
2005
Citation
The Florida Entomologist, Vol. 88, No. 4 (Dec., 2005), pp. 383-389.
Abstract
Mosquito feeding activity was monitored in an electronic apparatus (visualometer), having ten ports, illuminated from below with narrow bandwidths of light (700, 650, 600, 550, 500, 450, 400, or 350 nm). Responses of adult female Aedes albopictus Skuse, Ae. aegypti (L.), Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Say and Culex nigripalpus Theobald to feeding stations (blood containers) over each light port. No-light and broad spectrum white light were used as controls. Color preferences were based on electronic detection of feeding times. Aedes aegypti showed no significant feeding preferences over any of the colors. Conversely, Ae. albopictus, An. quadrimaculatus, and Cx. nigripalpus showed preferences for several of the wavelengths of light. In decreasing order, Aedes albopictus fed significantly longer at 600 nm, 500 nm, white, 450 nm, 400 nm, and black. For An. quadrimaculatus, significantly longer feeding durations were found over the black or white controls and all other individual wavelengths had significantly longer feeding durations than 350 nm. Finally, in decreasing order, significantly greater feeding times were recorded for Cx. nigripalpus over 500 nm, 600 nm, 450 nm, white, 650 nm, and 550 nm compared to the other wavelengths tested.