Medical Entomology - Science topic

Contact Gail Anderson (Simon Fraser University, Canada).

See: https://gsanderson0.wixsite.com/site

Schistosomes have indirect digenetic life-cycles, involving sexual reproduction in vertebrate definitive hosts and asexual reproduction in snail intermediate hosts. Parasites are transmitted between hosts by motile aquatic stages which actively seek hosts. Blood flukes form five different developmental stages: eggs, miracidia, sporocysts, cercariae, and adult worms. Miracidia are elliptical free-swimming larval stages covered with cilia. Sporocysts appear as pleomorphic sac-like bodies which contain developing cercariae.

According to the following RG link, which was conducted as a comparative analysis of reproductive generations in two evolutionary species of Digenea, the study found that during the life cycles of the two studied species, most genes change their expression levels significantly. The study also indicates an unexpectedly high level of plasticity in the regulation of genes between closely related species. , which may provide a high-quality reference source for future evolutionary studies and comparative analyses.

Mosquitoes biting activities vary from species to species. Nost start at dusk. Biting rhythm depends upon upon temperature and also on humidity. Primary malaria vector of the Subcontinent - An. culicifacies become active after mid night -maximum , An, stephensi starts at dusk. for detail see my papers in ResearchGate, particularly Bionomic of Mosqiuitoes of Changa Manga National Forest

Dear Priscilla,

Of course - I will send that to you now. It is worth noting, however, that this protocol was developed for use in remote field sites, so you may find laboratory protocols (e.g. from Benedict, M. Q. (2007). Methods in Anopheles research. Malaria Research and Reference Reagent Resource Center (MR4)) more suited to your work.

All the best,

Nichar

Please go through this useful PDF attachment.

iH

Please see the following RG links and PDF attachments.

following

Besides effective methods mentioned above, I also suggest yellow plate with liquid.

This link may be useful:

http://www.who.int/gender/documents/gender_health_malaria.pdf

With best wishes

Afkar

Hi Dr. Mousa, this link may be help you

https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/7822/PDF

Hello, 

I think muscles 8 and 11 are respectively the mandibular muscles and the dorsal retractor of the maxillae (The book from Christophers, 1960 on Aedes aegypti has some nice schematics on page 583).

Sincerely,

Clement

You can also try Kenya medical Research Institute (Kenya) or International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Kenya also. I have previously obtained A. aegypti eggs from ICIPE courtesy of KEMRI.

Thank you Monyer for your valuable comment.

Dear Salwa, your question is not very clear. What do you want to achieve? simply to detect the presence/absence of the malaria parasite infection in mosquitoes and then to determine the % infected mosquitoes ? or you want to quantify the intensity of infection (% parasitaemia in the malaria parasite infected individual mosquito) ? If you want to achieve the earlier part i.e.  to detect the presence/absence of the malaria parasite infection in mosquitoes, the suggestions received from Bradley and Noaman are fine and achievable. However, if you want to do the latter part i.e.  to quantify the intensity of infection then I am afraid that it is not possible with these methods.

Thank you all for your input.

Declan, Thank you for your suggestion.

Thank you all for your input.

Dear Rudolf, 

They find the blood vessels with their sucker following the heat and sense cues.

I believe we can summarize the challenge for Aedes aegypti control today in two main categories of obstacles:

The first category is the human contribution by the unplanned urbanization and the shortage of water are the main socioeconomic determinants for this issue, and the communities live under these pressure are difficult to change their behaviour because in the most of the situations they do not act based on their choice but based on their limited resources and the struggle occupying their mind regarding their urgent needs .

The second category as thankfully highlighted by Ligia, the knowledge gaps we need to fill before we establish informed decision making and evidence-based interventions.

Thank you so much Mr. Kumar and Mr. Ghawi for your input!

Dear Salvador, although the blood type may influence the attraction of mosquitoes, I believe there are several factors involved that need to be considered. Among them, I can highlight: the person's diet, sex, age, the metabolism of each, health status and hormonal question.

Tnaks again for your kindly help! Please don't say sorry, actually it's my carelessness. I have downloaded the article you provided and it maybe very helpful to me.

The general answer say there is due to host specificity which in turn related to many factors including immunity, physiology....of host body.

For albopictus there wouldn't be having issues for Wolbachia infection, may be for aegypti will be more harder. As in natural environment albopictus frequent found infected with Wolbachia. 

I'm looking for the device which uses pheronomes to detect the presence of ticks on dogs (animals).

Hello. I think #1 depends in part on if and which federal regulatory agency would be in charge of clearing your product for use. I've seen the EPA the FDA and the USDA involved depending on the specific technology. For #2, I'm not sure if I'm reading it correctly. But to set up a control program you can work with traditional technologies or partner with someone for using a novel technology. Here is a straightforward read about setting up a traditional program: http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/resources/800.pdf

Hope that helps.

Hello Adem:

There is a book with Keys to the Insects of the European Part of the USSR: Diptera and Siphonaptera (Keys to the Fauna of the USSR S.) by G. Ya. Bei-Bienko (Editor) in this link:

Regards

Luis Miguel

silicone membranes

Here is a recent paper on a new artificial blood feeding apparatus, if that is what you are looking for:

Finlayson C, Saingamsook J. and Somboon P. 2015. A simple and affordable membrane-feeding method for Aedes aegypti and Anopheles minimus (Diptera: Culicidae). Acta Trop. 152: 245-251.

Hi Abdul, for larvae:

Anopheles are the easiest to identify. They don't have a siphon and stay paralell to the water surface.

Aedes and Culex are very similar, however. But looking at the siphon you'll notice that the ones from Culex are longer and have a lighter color; their body is also "hairy" compared to Aedes. Using a microscope, look at the morphology of the combs, they are very different.

For adults:

Now Aedes mosquitoes are the easiest to identify. They are black and have white patches.

Culex and Anopheles are yellow-ish, but you can identify them by observing their resting position. Anopheles mosquitoes have a ~45 degree angle, while Culex stay parallel to the surface. Microscopically, look for antena morphology.

To identify instars, just look at the size and the color of the larvae. First instar larvae are very small, with light gray color, while 4th instar larvae are very dark, and you can see their hair very clearly. Microscopically, look at the saddle, it gets bigger and darker with the instar, covering the anal segment almost entirely. 

After some time working with them you'll differentiate all the instars easily, it's just a matter of practice. :)

This manual is good but costs $75 http://www.mcaa.org.au/ecommerce/details/394/mosquito-control-manual

also free

Hi Dave

After I sent my answer I came across the ResearchGate site of Terry Whitworth https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Terry_Whitworth.  He has done a lot of work on haematophagous maggots of nestlings and has references attached to his publications of other species I had forgotten about such as Philornis downsi, the fly causing so many problems for Galapagos birds.

Best regards

Ian

I think David hit the nail on the head.....seston.  Any thing leading to higher particulate loading tends to increase hydropsychid abundance.  We see them in large numbers in our most urban streams where impervious surfaces lead to increased bank and bed erosion.  They also respond positively to agriculture.  

In sericulture, the tachnid fly menace is very high. We used to rear the insects by keeping the collected pupa in a cage made up of mosquito nets as shown in the picture and tied it on an iron frame of your desired size. Once the pupa emerges into flies provide sugar cubes and water in separate container. Once the adults started mating we introduce the silkworm with mulberry leaves so that the tachnid flies lay eggs on it. After rearing the silkworms for a week, the grown up tachnid maggots inside the worms would come out. This is how I produce the tachnid pupa and adult for my research work. Please see the attachment to get an idea of the cages. This cages has been used for rearing house flies for the production of Nesolynx thymus, a hyper-parasitoid for the tachnid fly pupa. All the best for your work. Thanks.  

These are larval exuviae (cast skins) of Dermestidae, very probably of the genus Trogoderma. The main synanthropic genera of Dermestidae having larvae with arrow-like hairs (hastisetae) are Trogoderma and Anthrenus. Larvae of Anthrenus don't have, however, a 'tail' of long hairs at the posterior end of the abdomen; tail which is present, instead, in the exuviae of these photos. Regards,

Rinaldo Nicoli

Hi Dr Chong,

May I request for the full text article of your article "Illustrated keys to adult flies of forensic importance in Malaysia"? I am currently doing a research project on forensic entomology and your help is greatly appreciated.

I think 50% FBC and 50% glycerol is good for salivation but it may very difficult to induce salaivation in varrova mites. You should try with different combinations. 

Hi Dora

Interestingly your question has several aspects that need to be addressed.

1. The first point is whether the systemic insecticide is present in exactly the same chemical state in the blood of the rodent as it is in the feeding device - is there any metabolism of the insecticide by the rat so the fleas on the rat are feeding on a metabolite?  If there is metabolism you need to evaluate the effect of that process on whether it increases or reduces the activity of the insecticide.

2. How is the uptake of the insecticide monitored in the rats, i.e. I assume here you have performed the pharmacokinetics?  Also there may be differences in the bioavailability according to the individual rat so again PK results need to be averaged at the very least in order to set up you in vitro feeders.

3. From the flea aspect you need to check that the insects take similar blood meals.  This is not easy and may be associated with strain differences.

So, the way I would address this problem would be to see if it is possible to avoid having to make too many complex biochemical analyses on small quantities of blood, etc.  Would it be possible to perform the test you describe, using the rat strain on rats and the feeding device strain on the feeding device in one experiment and then perform and kind of cross-over experiment in which a sepearate group of the rat strain is fed on the artificial feeder and a group of the artificial feeder strain is fed on rats?

Of course, in the cross-over experiment the fleas may not feed as vigorously or become replete but the ones that do feed well could be compared across experiments.  No doubt this will raise other questions but as a first step it is something to consider.

Best wishes, Ian

Go to Ensembl Metazoa ' http://metazoa.ensembl.org/Aedes_aegypti/Info/Index ' and search.

There are two genes  for voltage gated sodium channel: - AAEL006019, AAEL013277.

Is it possible to get more information? Size, where was it found etc. To me it looks like some   carpet beetle larva

In many cases, the detailed description of the methods can be found in earlier papers (or sometimes later ones) from the same lab published in journals that allow for more complete descriptions of methods than Science and Nature. Work your way back through the references in the article in question to begin with. Sometimes you have to follow a trail of references back in time until you find the details of a method.

Journal of Biotechnology31 January 1995, Vol.38(3):243–251, doi:10.1016/0168-1656(94)00128-Y

Regular paper

Physiological and environmental factors affecting the growth of insect cells and infection with baculovirus

N. Kioukia

A.W. Nienow

M. Al-rubeai

Yes, they can.

I would be glad to help you if you can provide the data and the project you are working in.

RNDr. Ivona Kautmanová, PhD., predsedníčka komisie

 entomofagous fungi

Hello Geoffrey:

The mould mites Tyrophagus putrescentiae  and T. entomophagus are common pests of stored products, especially those with a high protein and fat content (meat, cheese, nuts and seeds, dried eggs. It feeds on the fungi that grow on the foodstuffs, and can become a pest of mycology laboratorie. If you need to start a colony of Tyrophagus mites, You can use cheese or nuts with high content of humidity infested with Aspergillus, a very common  group of conidial fungi in the Ascomycota. Tyrophagus feed on Aspergillus and reproduce very easy. Let  open the containers with food in a dark room with high humidity ( 80% RH and 26°C) to get natural infestation by Tyrophagus in two weeks.

Regards,

Luis Miguel

I agree with Saul on this one, when you start, it is best to use keys as they can get really confusing sometimes. Relying on body size hasnt worked well for us but hte speckled legs always does the trick. 

An echo to Dr. Kopfli

1. These under 5 yr children had relatively little acquired immunity compared with  the older individuals. 

2. Parasite density would be  higher in these young children.

Therefore, parasite clearance time might take longer in these group of children.

This means parasite clearance time at Day 3 is likely to be lower.

         By definition, ETF means inadequate decrease in parasitemia ( i.e parasitemia on day 3 ≥25% of count on day 0.)

 I feel that you have found ≥25% parasitaemina at Day 3.  

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sorry this is coming late, I got the capture and conjugated mabs from KPL and the sera from rockland immunochemicals. It turned out to be perfect.  

hope this paper will help.

When you spray a house with liquid vaporizers it must remain closed for 45 minutes after spraying insecticide to take effect in all adult mosquito population. If the house is not closed on time drops evaporate so that the insecticide will not exterminate the entire population of mosquitoes and therefore survivors can contribute to the emergence of resistance. Resistance can be caused by inadequate preparation of the formulation wherein the active ingredient is at a lower dose that produces the insecticidal effect.

Importantly, mosquito control should be performed using the larvicide Abate in water storage containers and eliminating vector breeding sites together with spraying liquid vaporizers made to prevent the larvae emerge as adults. If you have further questions you can write me again and I apologize for not having responded earlier.

Liquid vaporizing not have such a significant increase in the occurrence of resistance role because the insecticide evaporates quickly, so no residual concentrations of insecticide remain in the environment exert selection pressure on the populations of wild mosquitoes and favor the emergence of the resistance.

The range of Ha. longicornis is restricted to more temperate regions, the species is absent in India and adjacent areas. The species is common in Japan, Korea, Russian Far East and was also introduced to Australia and New Zealand.

Best wishes.

can be An vagus live in the bod field as a vector?

Yaah for me the estimation of the content using charecteristic of the lesions is very possible its only that yo will require to be a little bit more careful though also it is more tedious but it will

work thank.

I think it needs to be noted that o'nyong-nyong virus is the one medically important  arbovirus that can be transmitted by anophelines and culicines. In practically all other instances, culicines are the exclusive or nearly exclusive vectors. In general, the main genera involved are Aedes and Culex. An arbovirus may have been isolated from numerous species but may reflect the presence of an undigested infected blood in the midgut or a salivary gland infection barrier, for example. Susceptibility must not be confused with the ability to transmit.

Hi Monika, you could try the protocol in this paper first:

Hi Gireesh:

To keep your Plutella xylostella rearing containers free of viral or bacterial diseases you must  clean your cage with a 10 % sodium hypochlorite solution. Also you can wash the cabbage leaves with this solution.  Avoid sealed containers with high humidity. Keep your colony in mesh cages on sites with controlled humidity and get your stock breeding colony free of virus to avoid contamination and death of the larvae.

Regards,

Luis Miguel

Lavender, basil, rosemary, and citronella grass are few examples of mosquito repellent plants. 

Cockroaches carry substances that may help killing microbes. 

I don't think anybody can identify them on the basis of these pictures, certainly not as long as no multiplying forms are shown. And even then, one would need molecular tools.

ELISA results identifying Plasmodium falciparum infection

status in Anopheles spp. you can see (Sanford et al., 2014).

There is no indication they biologically transmit the virus.  No molecular or immunological studies found any virus binding sites in the midgut for example of mosquitoes.

Insects are really not very good vectors of almost any virus (with a few exceptions).  The shear number of viruses out there is astronomical and insects are not shown or even implicated in most.  The only exception are the arboviruses and to be truthful if you look at the biology of these viruses you will find that even susceptible vectors are really not that good at transmitting most of them.  The viruses end up getting blocked by midgut or salivary gland barriers or there just are not enough in a blood meal to even infect a vector.

First by looking at your photo I'd say you have a Corethrella sp. and not a mosquito.  They are predatory and fairly closely related to mosquitoes.  You might email Art Borkent in Canada about your specimens.  He recently revised the family worldwide and I bet you have a new species.

In terms of mosquitoes certainly the genus Lutzia or subgenus Culex (Lutzia) depending on the taxonomist has many predatory species.  It is hard to tell about your photo but I still bet it is a Corethrella sp.

Corethrela are interesting because the females feed on frog blood and are attracted to frog calls.

Have you tried defibrinated blood? I haven't worked with Aedes but I for Culex and Anopheles rubbing the membrane (I used parafilm) under your armpit (preferably after a hard day in the lab) attracted them to the blood feed quicker. Although they will then develop a preference for your odour!

Hi, this isn't a direct answer but hopefully a useful one anyway. Have a look at WHO's "Training module on malaria control: Entomology and vector control", both the participants' and tutors' guides. The link to both documents can be found here:

Hope this helps.

It will be fair to use the key from Middle East like Lane 1982.

In India it is still not over! Your paper is quite old. Is Biologica  an international journal?

Attached  find some literature for your digest if they can assist

I suggest this very fine and detailed work, with very nice pictures: Tremblay E., 1958 - Studio morfo-biologico sulla Necrobia rufipes De G. - Bollettino del Laboratorio di Entomologia agraria "Filippo Silvestri", XVI, pp. 49-140.

Best regards,

Rinaldo Nicoli

I like both answer and are right.

Thanks you both

this is mealworms of tenebrio molitor

First two photographs  belongs to nymphal stage of Hyalomma sp ticks due to longirostrum , bifid  first coxa and sickle shaped ventral plates, Other 3 photographs belongs to Hemaphysalis sp ticks due o the presence of lateral prolongation in the third segment of pedipalp , spur in the first coxa and absence of ventral plates

Sir

Use leaves of Peppermint, Mentha avensis plant and covers the top 5 cm layer of stored grain (post harvest products) by said treatment, u will definitely avoid oviposition and damage by/due to stored grain pests in storage. 

Please check the MR4 protocols for mosquito rearing. Also you can get some humidifiers / water coolers in the rooms for increasing humidity. 

yes, that is correct, just read the ECDC statements on Dengue:

Potential vectors are not as likely to carry diseases-competent virus' as they might be in Brazil and/or other countries with mediterranean climates. But in European countries with suitable climate (e.g. mediterranean), the issue is currently discussed.

I'm not a chemist but you may want to have a look at Benier and others (2000 and 2001) analyzing skin emanations. They were able to detect Lactic acid through conventional GC-MS in spite of the difficulty.Picking from the work of Benier, the Takken lab at Wagenigen university, Netherlands have evaluated Lactic acid as a synergistic attractant of Anopheles gambiae s.l.. The compound is now considered an active part of synthetic blends for trapping malaria mosquitoes (Kline et al 2007; Okumu et al 2010; Olanga et al 2010; Mukabana 2012). The effectiveness of these blends is currently being evaluated in relatively large field trial in Rusinga Island under the umbrella of Solarmal - a malaria project that seeks to reduce malaria transmission using odour-baited mosquito traps. This might be totally irrelevant. I just though I might add it here :)