Automated Long-Term Monitoring of the Heat-Seeking Behavior of Mosquitoes
- Chisako Sakuma1,2,3,
- Emi Maekawa1,2,4 and
- Hirotaka Kanuka1,2,5
- 1Department of Tropical Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
- 2Center for Medical Entomology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
- 3Laboratory for Nutritional Biology, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
- 4Group of Genetics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Aichi 464-8602, Japan
- ↵5Correspondence: kanuka{at}jikei.ac.jp
Abstract
Heat is one of the critical cues female mosquitoes use to find vertebrate hosts, particularly in the final step of attraction (touching down on hosts) before the initiation of blood-sucking. To prevent vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, which are transmitted via mosquito blood-sucking, it is essential to understand the dynamics and mechanisms of the heat-seeking behavior of mosquitoes. An automated device to quantify CO2-activated heat-seeking behavior with continuous monitoring for up to a week was established. The device is based on the infrared beam break method; it can simultaneously monitor three independent mosquito behaviors (touchdown on a heated target, feeding, and locomotion activity) by using several pairs of infrared laser sensors. This protocol describes brief instructions for the device's construction, directions for use, and possible issues and solutions.
Footnotes
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From the Mosquitoes collection, edited by Laura B. Duvall and Benjamin J. Matthews.
