Increased fecundity of Aedes aegypti fed human blood before release in a mark-recapture study in Puerto Rico

Laboratory experiments suggest that utilization of blood rather than natural sugar sources for energetic needs affords female Aedes aegypti a reproductive advantage over conspecifics that use sugar. To test this hypothesis under field conditions, we carried out a mark-release-recapture study in Florida, PR. Adult females (F1) reared from field-collected eggs were provided with a diet of human blood alone or human blood plus a 20% honey solution before their release. Backpack aspirators were used to collect mosquitoes from release houses for 5 consecutive days beginning the 2nd day after release. Survival was estimated from the slope of the regression line of the log-transformed daily number of recaptures for each treatment group. To compare fecundity of the treatment groups, each recaptured female was dissected, ovaries were removed, oocytes counted, and Christophers' stages of oocyte development scored. Recapture rates were 30% for the blood-only group and 23% for blood plus honey group. The daily survival rate of the blood-only group (55%) was not statistically different from that of the blood plus honey group (69%) (t = 0.32, P > 0.05). By analysis of variance, fecundity (average number of stage III-V oocytes) was significantly higher in the females fed human blood alone (n = 103, 109 oocytes/female) than in the group fed on blood and honey (n = 50, 95 oocytes/female) (P = 0.0007). The observed gonotrophic cycle length of the recaptured females ranged from 3 to 7 days. Results from our field study are consistent with laboratory life-table experiments that suggest feeding exclusively on human blood provides a reproductive advantage for female A. aegypti.