Anticoagulants in in Blood Meal Feeding for Laboratory Rearing of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

Laboratory rearing of mosquito vectors is essential for entomological research, influencing both mosquito quantity and quality. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of anticoagulants in blood meal feeding for rearing Aedes aegypti in the laboratory. Seven anticoagulants were tested: EDTA K3, Li-Heparin, Sodium fluoride, Sodium citrate, CPD, CPDA-1, and a control group (plasma). The experiments were conducted in triplicate at the Entomology Laboratory, Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand, from November 2016 to March 2017, using 5-7-day old female Ae. aegypti fed through an artificial membrane feeding system. The results showed significant differences (p<0.05) in reproductive rates, including the number of eggs, pupae, and adults, among mosquitoes fed with the seven anticoagulant treatments. The control group (plasma) produced the highest mean number of eggs (593.33 ± 105.88), pupae (430.00 ± 112.73), adult males (178.33 + 38.76), and adult females (251.67 ± 74.18), with a 33% survival rate from egg to adult stages. CPD (380.67 ± 124.54 eggs) and CPDA-1 (362.00 ± 239.83 eggs) ranked second and third, respectively. In contrast, mosquitoes fed with Sodium fluoride-treated blood showed no egg development (0.00 ± 0.00), while Li-Heparin yielded poor results across all developmental stages (30.00 ± 30.00 eggs). This study demonstrates that plasma is the most effective option for laboratory rearing of Ae. aegypti through artificial membrane feeding, providing valuable information for selecting appropriate anticoagulants, enhancing rearing efficiency, and offering an alternative that complies with the 3Rs ethical principles by replacing animal models in vector-borne disease research.