Behavior-metabolism-autophagy axis in ticks and mosquitoes

Hematophagous arthropods, including mosquitoes and ticks, experience marked fluctuations in nutrient availability that shape survival, reproduction, and development. Despite their distinct life histories, both groups adjust behavior, endocrine signaling, metabolism, and cellular maintenance in response to nutrient availability. Autophagy is a conserved recycling pathway that may link cellular energy status to tissue remodeling, reproduction, and development. In this review, we examine evidence from mosquitoes and ticks through the behavior-metabolism-autophagy axis, exploring potential links among behavioral responses, metabolic allocation, and intracellular recycling under fluctuating nutritional conditions. Mosquitoes provide the strongest mechanistic evidence, whereas mechanistic studies in ticks remain limited. This comparative review highlights current evidence and key questions for future work.