Interactions
Parasitic Relationships:
Both male and female adult mosquitoes normally feed on nectar from
flowers and other plant fluids (Lobo, 2011). Female mosquitoes,
however, require blood from a human or other mammal, usually
domestic cattle and
horses, in order to be
able to lay their eggs (Lobo, 2011). Aedes aegypti are most commonly known for biting humans, since they
prefer urbanized areas, but they will also bite many other mammals.
Apart from being parasites to humans, mosquitoes in the Aedes genus
are able to spread other human parasites and pathogens. Some
viruses, most notably yellow fever and the somewhat newly emerging
dengue hemorrhagic fever, rely on Aedes mosquitoes to spread to new
hosts. Although other species of Aedes mosquitoes can transmit these
diseases, Aedes aegypti is
the most common vector since it prefers to bite humans and prefers
to lay its eggs in man-made containers that hold standing water
in close proximity to homes (Lobo, 2011). For this reason, it is one
of two kinds of mosquito focused on in most eradication efforts,
aside from
Anopheles mosquitoes, which carry
malaria and thus pose an equally significant public health risk.
Predation of Aedes aegypti:
Aside from its parasitic and disease-transmitting lifestyle, Aedes
aegypti and other mosquitoes play a role in their environment by
being important food sources for both aquatic and terrestrial
animals. Their aquatic larval forms are preyed upon heavily by some
small fish, such as
perch,
bluegills and
sunfish (Cavalcanti et al., 2007) as well as other aquatic animals, and
adult mosquitoes are commonly eaten by small reptiles, amphibians,
songbirds and even other insects such as
dragonflies and
damselflies. There is research going into investigating some
aquatic mosquito predators, such as fish, tadpoles of
frogs, and copepods, as
possible biological control mechanisms for the reduction in
population size or elimination of the Aedes aegypti mosquito from
areas of mosquito-borne disease outbreak (Cavalcanti et al., 2007).