Frequency matters: How successive feeding episodes by blood-feeding insect vectors influences disease transmission
Doug E. Brackney, Jacquelyn LaReau, Ryan C. Smith
Abstract
Hematophagy, the process of consuming and metabolizing blood, is an integral part of the arthropod vector life cycle. Blood feeding provides a nutrient-rich meal that is required for adult egg production and developmental progressions of immature life stages. This reliance on blood results in frequent feeding episodes every 2 to 4 days
Topics & Concepts
Blood mealBiologyVector (molecular biology)Aedes aegyptiMidgutImmune systemPhysiologyZoologyImmunologyEcologyLarvaBiochemistryRecombinant DNAGeneMosquito-borne diseases and controlInsect symbiosis and bacterial influencesViral Infections and Vectors