Influence of nutritional and physiological status on behavioral responses of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) to deltamethrin and cypermethrin.

Excito-repellency responses of Aedes aegypti (L.) exposed to deltamethrin and cypermethrin were assessed using an excito-repellency test system. Contact irritancy and non-contact repellency assays compared non-bloodfed (unfed) parous (post-gravid), nulliparous, early blood-fed, late blood-fed, sugar-fed, and unmated female mosquitoes for behavioral responses based on nutritional and physiological conditions at the time of testing. Rates of escape during contact exposure with either compound were most pronounced in parous mosquitoes, followed by unmated mosquitoes, when compared to other conditional states. Significantly higher numbers of parous females also escaped from control chambers compared to other cohorts (P <0.05). Irritability of blood- and sugar-fed mosquitoes was noticeably suppressed. We conclude that nutritional and physiological conditions (including age) of mosquitoes at the time of testing can significantly influence behavioral responses (excito-repellency) to insecticides. The findings indicate that whether due to chronological age, nutrition, physiological state, or innate (circadian) activity patterns, careful consideration must be given to the selection of appropriate conditioned mosquitoes for testing.