Comparison of swarming, mating performance and longevity of males Anopheles coluzzii between individuals fed with different natural fruit juices in laboratory and semi-field conditions

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Résumé

Background: It is assumed that malaria vectors feed on locally available nectar sources to obtain energy. Sugar feeding is energetically critical for the Anopheles male swarming and mating activities. However, little is known about the
impact of local nectar feeding on male physiological development and its consequences on male mosquito life traits
in the malaria control context. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of local fruit juices on the life traits of males
Anopheles coluzzii.
Methods: Swarming characteristics (number of males in swarm, number of mating pairs, and swarm duration) in
semi-field conditions; mating rate and longevity in a laboratory setting were compared between males An. coluzzii fed
exclusively with mango, papaya or banana juices. The trophic preference was investigated in semi-field conditions.
Results: The results of this study showed that in the laboratory, mosquitoes fed with papaya juices lived on average
longer (10 days) than those fed with banana or mango juices (5 days) and had higher a mating rate (53%) than those
fed with banana juice (40%). In the semi-field, the swarm size of mosquitoes fed with banana juice (85 males) was
larger than that of mosquitoes fed with mango juice (60 males). The number of mating pairs formed from banana-fed
male swarms (17 mating pairs) was higher than that formed from mango-fed male swarm (8 mating pairs). There was
no difference in swarming duration between male treatments. Male mosquitoes had a preference for papaya and
banana juices.
Conclusions: The results indicate that the origin of plant-derived feeding is an important factor in the survival and
reproduction of mosquitoes. This calls for further investigations of chemical contents of nectars and their impact on
the physiological development of mosquitoes.

Mots-clés

Malaria, Mosquito release, Sugar feeding, Trophic preference, Vector control