Preliminary studies on blood meal interval of Aedes polynesiensis in the field

Abstract

Preliminary studies on the interval between two successive blood meals of Aedes (Stegomyia) polynesiensis, the main vector of subperiodic bancroftian filariasis in the South Pacific, were undertaken by two methods : one, by mark-and-release experiments in Fiji, and the other, by the size of developing filarial larvae in the mosquitos from Tuvalu. The results obtained by both methods were similar, and the average blood meal interval in the field was estimated to be three or four days under the temperature range 25-31℃. The latter method is considered to be useful for estimation of blood meal interval of vector mosquitos in endemic areas of filariasis.