MALE ACCESSORY-GLAND SUBSTANCES MODIFY THE HOST-SEEKING BEHAVIOR OF GRAVID AEDES-AEGYPTI MOSQUITOS

Male accessory gland (MAG) substances of the mosquito, Aedes aegypti ( L.), when transferred during mating or injected directly into females, significantly reduced the host-seeking behavior of the females when t hey were gravid, The effect on female behavior was modulated by the nu tritional state of the male; compared to well-fed males, starved males contained less total protein in their MAGs, transferred less protein to females during mating, and had less of an effect on the inhibition of host-seeking behavior by the gravid females to which they mated, Ju venile hormone (JH) administered to starved males increased the levels of total MAG proteins in their accessory glands, but the host-seeking behavior of gravid females mated to JH-treated males was not signific antly affected, suggesting that the production of specific substances did not increase, Injection of MAG homogenates from other mosquito spe cies into Ae. aegypti indicated that there was some degree of specific ity in the inhibition of the host-seeking behavior.