Automated measurement of oxygen consumption by the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

Oxygen consumption of single mosquitoes was measured using a differential p ressure transducer (DPT) connected to two small chambers. A mosquito was pl aced in the experimental chamber (P1) and was separated from NaOH by 4 cm(2 ) of marquisette mesh. The reference chamber (P2) contained the same amount of NaOH and the marquisette mesh but without a mosquito. When these two ch ambers were sealed, removed O-2 from P1 resulted in a pressure decrease wit h respect to P2. This pressure differential was transduced into an output v oltage that was directly proportional to the amount of O-2 consumed by the mosquito. An array of eight DPTs was interfaced with an IBM 486 PC using an ADAC 5500MF analog to digital converter and software from ADAC (Direct Vie w) to automate the recording procedure. We determined that our apparatus wa s sensitive enough to detect subtle differences in O-2 consumption in mosqu itoes subjected to different physiologic conditions.