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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Propagation of the Microsporidian Parasite Edhazardia aedis in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes
Published on: August 13, 2020
Parasite transmission by insects: a female affair?
Domenico Otranto1, Jamie R Stevens, Cinzia Cantacessi
1Department of Veterinary Public Health, University of Bari, 70010, Valenzano (Bari), Italy. d.otranto@veterinaria.uniba.it
Abstract:
Understanding the relationship between the gender of insects and their ability to act as vectors of insect-borne diseases (IBDs) could provide clues as to the origin of the intimate interplay among insect, pathogen and vertebrate hosts. The vector activity of several species of blood-feeding insects is linked to adult females. Interestingly, the only known exception is the transmission of canine and human thelaziosis by a male dipteran fly. This biological difference raises the question as to whether the parasitic behaviour of male and female insects transmitting IBDs is an expression of a co-evolution of vectors and pathogens.
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