https://entomologytoday.org/2020/03/19/when-a-mosquito-cant-stop-drinking-blood-the-result-isnt-pretty/ Skip to content Entomology Today Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram * YouTube * LinkedIn Menu * About * Author Guidelines * Entomological Society of America * Jobs in Entomology * Insect ID [blog-logo-new-colors-2] Trending Topics: Research News*The Entomology Profession*Amazing Insects*Science Policy and Outreach When a Mosquito Can't Stop Drinking Blood, the Result Isn't Pretty Entomology Today March 19, 2020 7 Comments engorged Aedes aegypti mosquitoes An Aedes aegypti mosquito with an abnormally large blood meal (left) next to typical engorged mosquito (right) for comparison. (Photo by Perran Ross, Ph.D. By Perran Ross, Ph.D. Perran Ross, Ph.D. Perran Ross, Ph.D. An urban legend says that if you tense your muscle when a mosquito bites you and feeds on your blood, it can swell up and explode. With mosquitoes often cited as the most hated creature on the planet, the idea of being able to make them burst at will is perhaps an appealing one to many. But, having spent the better part of a decade feeding mosquitoes on my own arms for research, I can confidently say that it's a myth. There is, however, a way to make mosquitoes actually burst; all it takes is a steady hand and some forceps. The first ever exploding mosquitoes can be attributed to Robert Gwadz, Ph.D., in a discovery that was made through basic laboratory research over 50 years ago. He found that making an incision in the ventral nerve cord of a mosquito cuts off the signal to stop feeding, giving it an unquenchable thirst for blood. Mosquitoes that have undergone this procedure can drink in excess of four times their weight and may eventually burst. This led Gwadz to a hypothesis that blood ingestion is regulated by abdominal stretch receptors that prevent mosquitoes from (quite literally) drinking themselves to death. Mosquito ventral nerve cord incision diagram Severing or crushing the ventral nerve cord of a mosquito at the point shown by the green arrow leads to an unregulated intake of blood. (Image by Perran Ross, Ph.D.) Although this research is fundamental to our understanding of blood feeding behavior in mosquitoes, the results have rarely been repeated. So, while running my own experiments involving blood-feeding mosquitoes, I attempted to replicate these findings using a simple procedure. Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (only females feed on blood) were immobilized by placing them in the fridge for an hour. Then, under a dissecting microscope, I used a pair of forceps to pin the mosquito down on its side and a second pair to pinch the abdomen (pictured above), crushing the ventral nerve cord. The next day, I let the mosquitoes feed on my arm, as we do routinely in our laboratory. And then the magic happened. Warning: Graphic content. Mosquitoes undergoing a simple operation are unable to sense when they are full, drinking blood until they burst. (Video by Perran Ross, Ph.D.) The video above--which, be warned, may not be suitable for those squeamish at the sight of blood--shows some of the more dramatic results of the operation. Mosquitoes drank far beyond their fair share of blood and were rendered unable to fly or even walk. Others went even further, drinking so much that they eventually burst. Often, they would continue to feed long after their abdomen ruptured, unaware that what was going in was coming straight out the other end. Although the results are dramatic, performing surgery on individual mosquitoes is not a practical way to control mosquito populations or reduce the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases. But this knowledge of mosquito biology and their blood-feeding mechanisms could have many unexpected applications and inspire future research. For instance, one group of researchers is exploring how mosquitoes discern between plant nectar and blood. And the discovery that diet drugs can suppress mosquito appetite came from simple curiosity. Although we probably don't want blood from exploding mosquitoes raining down from the skies, sometimes it takes an absurd question for an important scientific breakthrough. Perran Ross, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is investigating ways to control insect pest and disease vectors with endosymbiotic bacteria. Twitter: @MosWhisperer. Website: https:// blogs.unimelb.edu.au/pearg/. Email: perran.ross@unimelb.edu.au. 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[certification-logo-wp2] Find ESA on Facebook Find ESA on Facebook Follow ESA on Twitter @EntsocAmerica Post navigation < Older To Reduce Tick Encounters, Where You Dump Your Leaves Matters Newer > White Fringetrees Likely to Withstand Attacks by Emerald Ash Borer 7 Comments >> 1. [98ca4] gregory paulson says: March 19, 2020 at 10:37 pm Vincent Dethier mentioned a similar effect in flies in his 1962 book, To Know a Fly Reply 2. [e5f58] Ivan Liem says: March 24, 2020 at 5:35 pm What happened after that? Did the mosquitoes died? Or just wounded? Reply 3. [080a7] Mary Strong-Spaid says: June 18, 2020 at 7:36 am An exploding mosuito is not pretty, you're right. Not at all! There is another hated insect....and that is the fire ant. So many of them are here in Texas. Step on a fire ant mound and a gazillion fire ants will rush out onto your foot in seconds. Not sure whether they bite or sting (or do both)-but it HURTS. People who are allergic end up in the emergency room. Reply + [7b0f7] Daniel Zelpher says: October 2, 2020 at 7:08 pm fire ants bite first to hold on, then they sting multiple times in a circle around that spot. Reply 4. [5ff78] pramit says: June 29, 2020 at 4:40 pm I have a question. It seems that sometimes the mosquito would drink so much blood that it loses its usual dexterity when it comes to flying. This means that its more vulnerable to getting killed when it leaves the host organism. Does this cost matter for the mosquito, and why do mosquito's suck in just that much blood? What I am asking is - why do mosquito's suck the amount of blood they do? Reply + [c2116] Evi Susanti says: July 23, 2020 at 12:03 am My opinion says, just like human do... We hungry, then we eat... The reason why we stop eating, cause we are full. In that case, some people just couldn't stop eating because of the lower ability to feel it. In some case, some people even lost it! In mosquito, just say that, their ventral nerf cord ability deformed sometimes? Reply 5. [d9ebc] Black Out says: November 4, 2020 at 8:42 pm these researchers must know the best cures for the itchiness after a mosquito bite. i would literally pay for good info. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Entomological Society of America 170 Jennifer Rd., Suite 230 Annapolis, MD 21401-7995 USA 301-731-4535 esa@entsoc.org Contact Us Disclaimer Terms & Conditions Privacy Statement Diversity & Inclusion Social Media Guidelines Cookie Statement Subscribe to Entomology Today via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to Entomology Today. You'll receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address [ ] Subscribe Search Search for... [ ] Search RSS feed RSS - Posts RSS feed RSS - Comments Top Subscribe to Entomology Today via Email Enter your email address to receive an alert whenever a new post is published here at Entomology Today. Email Address [ ] Subscribe Loading Comments... 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