Latest Culicidae Stories

Dengue fever -- caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes -- threatens 2.5 billion people each year and there is no vaccine or treatment. New research by Michigan State University entomologists has found that a bacterium can stop dengue viruses from replicating in the mosquitoes."In nature, about 28 percent of mosquito species harbor Wolbachia bacteria, but the mosquitoes that are the primary transmitters of dengue, Aedes aegypti, have no Wolbachia in them," said Zhiyong Xi, MSU...

The potentially deadly yellow-fever-transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito detects the specific chemical structure of a compound called octenol as one way to find a mammalian host for a blood meal, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists report.Scientists have long known that mosquitoes can detect octenol, but this most recent finding by ARS entomologists Joseph Dickens and Jonathan Bohbot explains in greater detail how Ae. aegypti--and possibly other mosquito species--accomplish...

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell researchers have found a protein that may lead to a new way to control mosquitoes that spread dengue fever, yellow fever and other diseases when they feed on humans: Prevent them from urinating as they feed on blood.The work may lead to the development of new insecticides to disrupt the mosquito's renal system, which contributes to a mosquito's survival after feeding on blood.Aedes aegypti mosquitoes transmit the virus that causes dengue fever, putting 40 percent of...

West Nile virus set the country abuzz when it rapidly spread from coast to coast just a few years after arriving in the United States. Most experts assumed birds were responsible for moving the virus across the country, but a paper published March 1 in the journal Molecular Ecology finds that smaller wings may be to blame."This is one of the first studies to suggest that mosquitoes may have played a greater role in the rapid movement of West Nile virus," said Jason Rasgon, a...

Researchers have new insight into the sex lives of the much-maligned mosquitoes that are responsible for the vast majority of malaria deaths, according to a report published online on December 31st in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. In finding a partner of the right species type, male and female mosquitoes depend on their ability to "sing" in perfect harmony. Those tones are produced and varied based on the frequency of their wing beats in flight."Everyone must be...

Earlier this year, researchers showed that they could cut the lives of disease-carrying mosquitoes in half by infecting them with a bacterium they took from fruit flies. Now, a new report in the December 24th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, suggests that their strategy might do one better: The Wolbachia bacteria also makes the mosquitoes more resistant to infection by viruses that are a growing threat to humans, including those responsible for dengue fever and Chikungunya.Once...

Stopping male mosquitoes from sealing their sperm inside females with a 'mating plug' could prevent mosquitoes from reproducing, and offer a potential new way to combat malaria, say scientists publishing new results in PLoS Biology on 22 December.The new study focuses on the species of mosquito primarily responsible for the transmission of malaria in Africa, known as Anopheles gambiae. These mosquitoes mate only once in their lifetime, which means that disrupting the reproductive process...

A mathematical model has explained some of the remarkable features of mosquito hearing. In particular, the male can hear the faintest beats of the female's wings and yet is not deafened by loud noises.The new research from the University of Bristol is published in the Journal of the Royal Society: InterfaceInsects have evolved diverse and delicate morphological structures in order to hear the naturally low energy of a transmitting sound wave. In mosquitoes, the hearing of acoustic energy, and...

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), the release of sexually sterile male insects to wipe out a pest population, is one suggested solution to the problem of malaria in Africa. A new supplement, published in BioMed Central's open access Malaria Journal, reviews the history of the technique, and features details about aspects of its application in the elimination of malaria.The supplement, edited by Dr Mark Benedict, who along with the other editors led the development of this technology at the...

Human movement is a key factor of dengue virus inflow in Rio de Janeiro, according to results from researchers based at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Brazil. The results, based on data from a severe epidemic in 2007-2008, contribute to new understanding on the dynamics of dengue fever in the second largest city in Brazil. Details are published November 10 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.Dengue fever is a major public health problem in many tropical...