LARVAL DIET, ADULT SIZE, AND SUSCEPTIBILITY OF AEDES-AEGYPTI (DIPTERA, CULICIDAE) TO INFECTION WITH ROSS RIVER VIRUS

The relationship of larval nutrition and adult body size to the suscep tibility of Aedes aegypti (L.) to Ross River virus infection was exami ned. Large adult mosquitoes produced by feeding larvae a high-level di et consumed significantly more virus particles than did smaller mosqui toes. However, when a correction for body size was made, smaller mosqu itoes were found to consume significantly more virus per unit of body weight. A host viremia of 2.4 log10 PFU/ml failed to infect mosquitoes of any size. Large Ae. aegypti mosquitoes were significantly more sus ceptible than small mosquitoes when fed on hosts with viremias of 4.8, 5.7, 6.4, and 7.5 log10 PFU/ml, but differences in susceptibility wer e less apparent at higher viremias.