Diet Destination in Culiseta inornata (Williston)1: Effect of Feeding Conditions on the Response to ATP and Sucrose

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Abstract
Diet destination in female Culiseta inornata (Williston) (Diptera: Culicidae) is controlled by phagostimulants in the diet. However, the threshold of response to phagostimulants such as sucrose, which causes diet to be directed to the crop, and ATP, which causes diet to be directed to the midgut, are affected by the conditions under which a diet is presented. Diets containing ATP and sucrose, alone and in combination, in water or insect saline, were presented under various feeding conditions. Feeding at ambient temperature from a free liquid surface results in normal “drinking” on water; if sucrose is present in the diet, “nectar feeding” is evoked and the system is biased in favor of the sugar. If diets are presented warmed to 37°C and covered with a membrane that must be pierced before feeding, a “blood-feeding” mode of behavior is evoked, and the system is biased toward ATP.