Feeding Patterns of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) Simultaneously Exposed to Malarious and Healthy Mice, Including a Method for Separating Blood Meals from Conspecific Hosts1

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Abstract
A method involving injection of anti-estradiol into mice and subsequently assaying this immunoglobulin in the blood meal radio-immunologically was developed to mark conspecific animals for mosquito feeding experiments. Mosquitoes released into cages containing 1 uninfected mouse and 1 mouse infected with either Plasmodium chabaudi or P. berghei engorged almost exclusively on the infected animal. Engorgement success depended on rodent defensive behavior, which was significantly modified by malaria infection. Mosquitoes successfully obtained blood from P. chabaudi -infected mice on day 9–13 postinfection. Mice infected with P. berghei were most vulnerable to mosquito engorgement on day 6–8 and 17–20 postinfection. When cages contained 2 uninfected mice, mosquitoes rarely engorged. Mosquitoes in cages containing 2 malaria-infected mice had engorgement profiles similar to those in cages containing an infected and uninfected mouse.