Effect of discriminative plant-sugar feeding on the survival and fecundity of Anopheles gambiae

Anopheles gambiae that had fed on four of the five more preferred plant species (T. stans, S. didymobotrya, R. communis and H. patens, but not P. hysterophorus) lived longer and laid more eggs after one blood meal, when compared with An. gambiae that had fed on the least preferred plant species L. camara. When given three consecutive blood-meals, the percentage of females that oviposited, but not the number of eggs laid, was significantly higher for mosquitoes that had previously fed on the four more preferred plant species. Total sugar concentration in the preferred plant parts was significantly correlated with survival and with the proportion of females that laid eggs. This effect was associated mainly with three sugar types, namely glucose, fructose, and gulose. Except for P. hysterophorus, the results suggest that feeding by mosquitoes on preferred plant species under natural conditions results in higher fitness-related benefits, and that the sugar content in preferred plant parts is largely responsible for these effects.