Anti-mosquito antibodies and their effects on feeding, fecundity and mortality of Aedes aegypti.

Anti-mosquito antibodies, produced in mice inoculated with mosquito homogenates or exposed to mosquito bites, reacted with a variety of mosquito antigens including muscle, gut, fat body and nervous tissue; those in anti-mosquito bite sera reacted solely with salivary glands. Mosquitoes fed on restrained immunized mice showed a significant increase in mortality correlated to both the titre and specificity of the anti-mosquito antibodies ingested. No changes in their fecundity or feeding success were noted. Mosquitoes exposed to unrestrained immunized mice or mosquito-bitten mice, however, showed a significant reduction in feeding success, possibly reflecting enhanced host grooming.