Adenosine-5′-phosphates as the Stimulating Agent in Blood for inducing Gorging of the Mosquito

Abstract

A MOSQUITO can be fed to satiety either on blood or on a solution of sugar. It follows that both these afford acceptable stimulants by contact, though in dissimilar ways as their primary destinations are the midgut and the crop, respectively. Since so much is known about the chemoreception of insects, it is surprising that no convincing explanation has ever been given of the nature of the stimulation by blood. The present work on forcible feeding of Culex pipiens var. pallens Coquillett suggests that the stimulation is principally chemical and gustatory, and that its normal source is the adenosine-5′-phosphate of dietary blood cells.