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Behavioural functions of grooming in male Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae), the Asian tiger mosquito

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Abstract

Flight, walking and resting behaviours of male Aedes albopictus (Skuse) were observed in a flight cage. These behaviours were also associated with repetitive acts of grooming. The effects of sugar meal and period of the day on the total duration, the frequency and the duration of each individual grooming behaviour were studied. Fed or unfed males were individually released in a transparent plastic flight cage and direct visual observations using Observer software were carried out for 2 h during the morning and 2 h in the afternoon. There was no significant difference in the grooming behaviour between morning and afternoon observations. Fed male mosquitoes groomed longer than unfed males. The sugar meal seemed an important influencing factor of the grooming behaviour by giving more energy and making different parts of the mosquito sticky. The functions of grooming behaviour are discussed in regard to other behaviours such as mating, copulation, sensory detection and flight.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Lucie Maillot for her help during the laboratory work. The IRD Sterile Insect Technique Project was financially supported by the French Ministry of Health and the FEDER Convergence Réunion 2007-2012 programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MIVEGEC (IRD 224-CNRS 5290-Université Montpellier 1), IRD, BP 64501, 34394, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Maxime Jacquet, Cyrille Lebon, Guy Lemperiere & Sébastien Boyer

  2. Centre de Recherche et de Veille dans l’Océan Indien (CRVOI), 2 Rue Maxime Rivière, 97410, Sainte Clotilde, La Réunion, France

    Maxime Jacquet, Cyrille Lebon, Guy Lemperiere & Sébastien Boyer

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  1. Maxime Jacquet
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  2. Cyrille Lebon
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  3. Guy Lemperiere
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  4. Sébastien Boyer
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Correspondence to Sébastien Boyer.

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Jacquet, M., Lebon, C., Lemperiere, G. et al. Behavioural functions of grooming in male Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae), the Asian tiger mosquito. Appl Entomol Zool 47, 359–363 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-012-0126-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-012-0126-6

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