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Host selection of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus females in a semi-desert environment in Northern Mexico
Transmission of arboviral diseases such as those caused by dengue, chikungunya and West Nile viruses involves hematophagous
insects. Arbovirus transmission is a complex process in which host selection plays an important role that determines the contact
rates between vulnerable hosts and infective vectors. This paper describes host selection of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) (Diptera:
Culicidae) and Culex quinquefasciatus in suburban neighborhood houses located in the semi-desert environment of northern
Mexico. All bloodmeal analyses were completed in engorged females collected by means of BG-GAT (BIOGENTS ®) traps and
blood identification was made through PCR analysis using cytochrome b as reference gene. The results show that Ae. aegypti is
feeding primarily on birds from the Galliformes and Columbiformes orders. On the other hand, Culex quinquefasciatus exhibits
the same behavior as Ae. aegypti, selecting Galliformes as the main blood source group but exhibits different behavior regarding
humans, feeding preferentially on humans over non-human mammals. Regarding resource utilization, Ae. aegypti had a broader
niche (0.79) than Cx. quinquefasciatus(0.46). Pianka´s niche overlap index (0.79) showed that both species share many common
hosts. Host selection for the mosquito species analyzed were found to be atypical from what is reported in the literature, which
could have an impact on the vectorial capacity of the mosquitoes within the study are