Mosquitoes Exposed to Sunlight in Florida Are Capable of Making Vitamin D₃

This study aimed to determine whether mosquitoes exposed to natural sunlight are able to produce vitamin D₃ Materials and Methods: Mosquito eggs obtained from adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were raised to adulthood. Approximately 1,200 male and female mosquitoes were divided among six cages. Four cages were placed on the roof on sunny days, 10-Sep-2021 and 12-Oct-2021. Two of the cages were exposed to sunlight from 8:30-18:00 and brought inside during rainstorms in the midday that lasted approximately 2 hours, while the other two cages were placed in deep shade and served as a control. After the exposure, the mosquitoes were collected and frozen at -80°C. The mosquitoes were thawed and then extracted in methanol followed by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis.

The mosquitoes that were exposed to sunlight produced vitamin D₃ whereas the mosquitoes kept in deep shade and not exposed to any sunlight did not produce significant vitamin D₃ Conclusion: Mosquitoes exposed to sunlight have the ability to produce vitamin D₃ Therefore, mosquitoes exposed to sunlight provide an excellent dietary source of vitamin D₃ for insect eating vertebrates including birds and especially bats that avoid sun exposure and require vitamin D for their skeletal health.