LONG-DISTANCE ORIENTATION, NUTRITIONAL PREFERENCE, AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSIVENESS IN THE MOSQUITO AEDES BAHAMENSIS

Both autogenous and anautogenous members of the facultatively autogeno us mosquito Aedes bahamensis are preferentially attracted to plant rat her than vertebrate-host-related volatiles as newly-emerged females. A utogenous females switch their preference to vertebrate host volatiles by six to eight days of age. In contrast, mature anautogenous females are equally attracted to both types of hosts and show no preference f or one over the other. Developmental changes in sensory responsiveness correlate well with these behavioral observations and a model is pres ented for the sensory physiological basis of nutritional preference in mosquitoes.