Nectar feeding by the early-spring mosquito Aedes provocans

Nectar feeding by males and females of the mosquito Aedes provocans was studied at a site near Belleville, Ontario, Canada. Canada plum, Prunus nigra, and especially pin cherry, P. pensylvanica, bloomed contemporaneously with the emergence of Ae. provocans and were important nectar sources for adult mosquitoes during their first week of life. Blossoms of P. pensylvanica shielded for 24 h from foragers produced an average of 0.14 mg of sugar (approximately 2.3J). This nectar was avidly sought by both sexes of Ae. provocans; > 97% of the blossoms were visited by mosquitoes in the first few days of blooming. Young adult mosquitoes were found on blossoms at all hours of the day and night; feeding on P. nigra was strongly eocrepuscular, whereas on P. pensylvanica feeding was much less strongly periodic. Adults foraged for nectar in an energy-conserving, pedestrian strategy, devoting 56% (females) and 68% (males) of their time on blossoms to nectar feeding during foraging bouts that lasted a median of 5.3 min. Both sexes sought nectar soon after emergence--males before they had completed hypopygial rotation or swarmed, and females before mating or host seeking. Female Ae. provocans sought nectar in all stages of oogenesis, but primarily at the initiation of a gonotrophic cycle. Energy stores in the crop averaged 18J per female, with a distribution that depended on gonotrophic age and parity.