This study reports on the relationship between
Wuchereria bancrofti
infection and female body size, intake of blood and fecundity in the mosquito
Culex quinquefasciatus
, vector of this filarial parasite in Recife (Brazil). Adults from field collected
larvae were infected via a membrane feeding procedure, using blood with parasitaemia
ranging from 724-6,000 mf/ml. A positive correlation was observed between mosquito
size (measured by wing length) and egg production in uninfected females. However,
this relationship did not exist in
W. bancrofti
infected mosquitoes. This change is unlikely to be the result of changes in
blood ingestion as no significant difference was found when infected and uninfected
females were compared. Variation in egg production observed between trials
could not be associated with parasite density in the blood. These results suggest
infection with
W. bancrofti
may disrupt the relationship between mosquito size and egg production during
the first gonotrophic cycle of
C. quinquefasciatus
such that fecundity is sometimes reduced. However, this overall affect is variable
and many groups of mosquitoes do not respond in this way.
