Mosquitoes carrying a malaria-causing parasite develop an increased desire for sugar.
Baldwyn Torto of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi and his colleagues monitored the attraction of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes (pictured) to plant odours and the investigative behaviour of the insects around nectar sources. In laboratory experiments, the authors showed that insects infected with Plasmodium falciparum parasites were more attracted to plant odours and demonstrated increased pre-feeding probing activity compared with uninfected individuals.
Plant odours could be used to trap parasite-infected mosquitoes, the authors suggest.
Curr. Biol. http://doi.org/qww (2014)
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Parasite drives host to nectar. Nature 505, 457 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/505457b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/505457b
