Carnaghi, Manuela ORCID: 0000-0003-4595-082X , Mandelli, Federico, Feugère, Lionel ORCID: 0000-0003-0883-5224 , Joiner, Jillian, Young, Stephen, Belmain, Steven R. ORCID: 0000-0002-5590-7545 , Hopkins, Richard ORCID: 0000-0003-4935-5825 and Hawkes, Frances ORCID: 0000-0002-0964-3702 (2023) Visual and thermal stimuli modulate mosquito-host contact with implications for improving malaria vector control tools. iScience, 27 (1):108578. pp. 1-17. ISSN 2589-0042 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.108578)

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Abstract

Malaria prevention relies on mosquito control interventions that use insecticides and exploit mosquito behavior. The rise of insecticide resistance and changing transmission dynamics urgently demand vector control innovation. To identify behavioral traits that could be incorporated into such tools, we investigated the flight and landing response of Anopheles coluzzii to human-like host cues. We show that landing rate is directly proportional to the surface area of thermal stimulus, whereas close-range orientation is modulated by both thermal and visual inputs. We modeled anopheline eye optics to theorize the distance at which visual targets can be detected under a range of conditions, and experimentally established mosquito preference for landing on larger targets, although landing density is greater on small targets. Target orientation does not affect landing rate; however, vertical targets can be resolved at greater distance than horizontal targets of the same size. Mosquito traps for vector control could be significantly enhanced by incorporating these features.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	malaria; mosquitoes; landing; host-seeking; thermal; visual; cues; host
Subjects:	Q Science > Q Science (General) Q Science > QR Microbiology S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Agriculture, Health & Environment Department
Last Modified:	09 Jan 2024 09:13
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/45250

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