Sugar feeding patterns of New York Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are affected by saturation deficit, flowers, and host seeking

Background Sugar feeding is an important behavior which may determine vector potential of female mosquitoes. Sugar meals can reduce blood feeding frequency, enhance survival, and decrease fecundity, as well as provide energetic reserves to fuel energy intensive behaviors such as mating and host seeking. Sugar feeding behavior can be harnessed for vector control (e.g. attractive toxic sugar baits). Few studies have addressed sugar feeding of Aedes albopictus, a vector of arboviruses of public health importance, including dengue and Zika viruses. To address this knowledge gap, we assessed sugar feeding patterns of Ae. albopictus for the first time in its invasive northeastern USA range. Methodology/Principal findings Using the cold anthrone fructose assay with robust sample sizes, we demonstrated that a large percentage of both male (49.6%) and female (41.8%) Ae. albopictus fed on plant or homopteran derived sugar sources within 24 hrs prior to capture. Our results suggest that sugar feeding behavior increases when environmental conditions are dry (high saturation deficit) and may vary by behavioral status (host seeking vs. resting). Furthermore, mosquitoes collected on properties with flowers (>3 blooms) had higher fructose concentrations compared to those collected from properties with few to no flowers (0-3). Conclusions/Significance Our results provide the first evidence of Ae. albopictus sugar feeding behavior in the Northeastern US and reveal relatively high rates of sugar feeding. These results suggest the potential success for regional deployment of toxic sugar baits. In addition, we demonstrate the impact of several environmental and mosquito parameters (saturation deficit, presence of flowers, host seeking status, and sex) on sugar feeding. Placing sugar feeding behavior in the context of these environmental and mosquito parameters provides further insight into spatiotemporal dynamics of feeding behavior for Ae. albopictus, and in turn, provides information for evidence-based control decisions. Author summary Sugar feeding on plant nectar and other sources is an important mosquito behavior that varies between mosquito types. It is critical to understand sugar feeding because it impacts other aspects of mosquito biology, such as egg production, survival, and energy for activities such as mating and host seeking. Sugar can also be used to trap and kill mosquitoes. For example, attractive toxic sugar baits have been tested as a new control technique that depends on sugar feeding behavior for success. We investigated this behavior for the Asian tiger mosquito, a globally invasive species that can transmit several pathogens. We know very little about its sugar feeding behavior-only 4 studies have been conducted on the topic prior to ours, and none in Northeastern US, where our study was conducted. We found that hot and dry weather leads the mosquito to sugar feed more often and the presence of flowers increases the amount of sugar contained in those mosquitoes. Unexpectedly, we observed that host-seeking mosquitoes were more likely to be sugar fed than resting mosquitoes, which is contrary to previous studies showing a reduction in blood feeding after sugar feeding. In order to fully understand the patterns that we observed, further research will be necessary.