A Description of Attempts to Infect Mosquitoes with Avian Filarial Worms

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Abstract
In efforts to find suitable experimental intermediate hosts for certain avian filarial worms, various mosquito species were exposed to several spp. of microfilariae. Two kinds of dipetalo-nematid filarial larvae were used in most experiments, one kind normally found in blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata), the other in crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos). Unidentified larvae from cardinals (Richmondena cardinalis) and white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) were used in 10 of 159 experiments. No normal development occurred in any mosquitoes, representing 13 spp. and strains. Larvae from a white-throated sparrow underwent abortive development in Aedes aegypti; in all other experiments, microfilariae were killed either in the stomach, abdominal cavity or tissues of the mosquitoes. Death occurred either from encapsulation (either in stomach or tissues), or by digestion in the stomach.