The Effect of Sucrose Concentration on Olfactory-Based Associative Learning in Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae)

摘要

A classical conditioning approach was used to examine the ability of Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae) to associate odor with a sugar-meal of varying quality. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impact of different sucrose concentrations (5 %, 10 %, or 50 %) on positive response to conditioning and to examine sucrose concentration preference following exposure to a 10 % solution. Mosquitoes conditioned in conjunction with all three sucrose concentrations showed evidence of learning; including the concentration of the conditioning stimulus, and the sex of the mosquito. Using colored solutions to determine feeding patterns of experienced mosquitoes indicated male mosquitoes showed no preference but females showed a preference for 10 % over 5 % sucrose but not between 10 % and 50 % sucrose solutions.