Culturing and egg collection of Aedes aegypti

Abstract

Blood-feeding mosquitoes, including the dengue and yellow fever vector Aedes aegypti, transmit many of the world's deadliest diseases. Such diseases have resurged in developing countries and pose clear threats for epidemic outbreaks in developed countries. Recent mosquito genome projects have stimulated interest in the potential for arthropod-borne disease control by genetic manipulation of vector insects, and genes that regulate development are of particular interest. This protocol describes methods for culturing Ae. aegypti and includes a procedure for egg collection that can be used in conjunction with fixation, immunohistochemistry, and in situ protocols.

Fig. 1. Mosquito rearing cage

The cotton sleeve on the cage (seen in A) permits human access and manipulations within the cage. The netted top of the cage (top down view shown in B) allows for blood feeding prior to egg collections.