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Student Competition

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Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology

10-Minute Paper

MUVE: Mosquito and Other Fly Vectors Ecology and Behavior On-Demand Presentations

Response to visual threats under different behavioral contexts in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

On-Demand

Presenting Author(s)

Nicole Wynne

Graduate Student
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia

Co-Author(s)

KC

Karthikeyan Chandrasegaran

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia
CV

Clement Vinauger

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia

Similarly to other insects, mosquitoes experience the threat of being killed by predators. However, unlike most insects, mosquitoes are regularly coming into contact with human hosts as they require the proteins and nutrients present in our blood in order to produce progeny. This blood is located under the skin of defensive and mobile hosts so obtaining it can be a dangerous task as mosquitoes are frequently exposed to our swatts. The ability of mosquitoes to detect and avoid these threats is thus directly impacting their fitness. It is well known that mosquitoes use multiple sensory cues in order to locate their hosts, but how are they detecting these threats? To help answer this question, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were placed in a virtual reality environment, under either tethered or untethered conditions (i.e. free flight). They were exposed to a looming square designed to mimic a swatting hand and responses were quantified via video tracking of their escape maneuvers. Results showed that mosquitoes systematically avoided the line of interception from the looming stimulus regardless of its position and are responsive to the visual threat-like stimulus both when landed and in-flight. Results will be discussed in the context of how gaining a better understanding of mosquito threat detection and avoidance could lead to improvements in our control tools as well as aid in impairing mosquitoes’ ability to survive our swatts.