Journal of Medical Entomology (2010) 47, 442-450

Kyoko Sawabe, Haruhiko Isawa, Keita Hoshino, Toshinori Sasaki, Sudipta Roychoudhury, Yukiko Higa, Shinji Kasai, Yoshio Tsuda, Isao Nishiumi, Nobuo Hisai, Shoji Hamao and Mutsuo Kobayashi (2010)
Host-feeding habits of Culex pipiens and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) collected at the urban and suburban residential areas of Japan
Journal of Medical Entomology 47 (3), 442-450
Abstract: To evaluate the vectorial capacity of mosquitoes for viruses in Japan, the host-feeding habits of the mosquitoes were analyzed by sequencing polymerase chain reaction-amplified fragments of the cytochrome b and 16S ribosomal RNA regions of the mitochondrial DNA of 516 mosquitoes of 15 species from seven genera that were collected from residential areas during 2003-2006. Culex pipiens L. and Aedes albopictus Skuse were the most commonly collected species in urban and suburban residential areas. Anautogenous Culex pipiens pallens Coquillett was distinguished from the autogenous Cx. pipiens form molestus Forskal using a polymerase chain reaction-based identification method. Both Cx. p. pollens and Cx. p. form molestus exhibited similar host-feeding habits, broadly preferring avian (50.0 and 42.5% of avian, respectively) and mammalian (38.6 and 45.0% of avian, respectively) hosts, such as tree sparrows, ducks, and humans. Conversely, Ae. albopictus exhibited a highly mammalophilic and anthropophilic feeding pattern, with 84.2% feeding on mammalian hosts and 68.5% of these on humans. We concluded that in Japan, Cx. pipiens might play a significant role in the avian-to-mammal transmission of viruses, such as West Nile virus, whereas Ae. albopictus might play a role in the human-human transmission of dengue and Chikungunya viruses.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Mutsuo Kobayashi, Shinji Kasai, Yoshio Tsuda

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Culex quinquefasciatus		Japan
	Aedes vexans		Japan
	Aedes albopictus		Japan
	Culex molestus		Japan
	Aedes dorsalis		Japan
	Culex pipiens		Japan
	Culex bitaeniorhynchus		Japan
	Armigeres subalbatus		Japan
	Aedes japonicus		Japan
	Culex sasai		Japan
	Culex rubithoracis		Japan
	Aedes esoensis		Japan