Uncovering the “Secret Lives” of Asian Tiger Mosquitoes

Do not be fooled by its fierce name and beautiful markings. The Asian tiger mosquito is a bloodsucking beast. Even by mosquito standards, this pest is considered very hazardous due to its non-host specific love for all things blood, its voracious feeding behavior, prolific egg production, and its ability to transmit deadly diseases to humans and animals.   

Little is known about this invasive species and its whereabouts when they are not bothering others. It can be challenging to successfully track the movements of tiny insects in their natural environments. However, thanks to the development of miniature harmonic radar technology, tracking insects like the Asian tiger mosquito is now a reality. 

In a recent study, ARS researchers from the Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo, HI, used the same harmonic radar tagging methods they have used on other insects like fruit flies to study the “secret lives” of the notorious bloodsuckers in the Aloha State. 

“By placing miniature harmonic radar tags on mosquitoes, we were able to learn more about their behaviors such as where they hide, sleep, and hang out when humans and animals are not around than in previous studies,” said ARS Research Biologist Matthew Siderhurst. “It was essentially a Hide and Seek game in the wild, which we generally won because of the harmonic radar tags.” 

According to Siderhurst, the researchers found the mosquitoes did not always attempt to feed on nearby humans. While any person who had been on the receiving end of mosquito bites would beg to differ, the study’s findings surprisingly showed that mosquitoes did not always go after available targets. 

“Surprisingly, there were certain times when the mosquitoes wanted to engage with humans and other times when mosquitoes left us alone,” said Siderhurst. “This is just the beginning of understanding why mosquitoes do what they do.” 

While more research needs to be done in the future, Siderhurst and researchers see the bigger picture in studying mosquito behaviors to help the agricultural community in protecting their workers and livestock from mosquito-borne diseases and to develop better control strategies for the invasive species. 

“Mosquito-borne disease control relies on understanding mosquito movement behaviors, such as peak activity times, biting frequency, and egg-laying sites,” said Siderhurst. “This research will help our stakeholders as they develop improved pest management strategies that will help humans and animals.” 

The study was conducted in collaboration with the University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology. 

“Many aspects of the movement ecology of disease vectors have remained unknown for over 100 years, because we cannot track them in the same way that one could track a larger animal,” said Dr. Jennifer K. Peterson, Assistant Professor of Medical Entomology and head of the IDEAS lab at the University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology. 

“Collaborating with Siderhurst on using harmonic radar to track disease vector movement is leading to game changing insights, because it allows us to observe disease vector movement at an unprecedented granularity.” - by Jessica Ryan, ARS Office of Communications

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