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Updated: May 16, 2026

Determining Temperature Preference of Mosquitoes and Other Ectotherms
Published on: September 28, 2022
Rethinking vector immunology: the role of environmental temperature in shaping resistance
Courtney C Murdock1, Krijn P Paaijmans, Diana Cox-Foster
1Merkle Laboratory, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, Orchard Road, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania 16802, USA. ccm15@psu.edu
Abstract:
Recent ecological research has revealed that environmental factors can strongly affect insect immunity and influence the outcome of host-parasite interactions. To date, however, most studies examining immune function in mosquitoes have ignored environmental variability. We argue that one such environmental variable, temperature, influences both vector immunity and the parasite itself. As temperatures in the field can vary greatly from the ambient temperature in the laboratory, it will be essential to take temperature into account when studying vector immunology.
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