Aedes (Gymnometopa) mediovittatus (Diptera: Culicidae) as an experimental vector of Brugia pahangi and B. malayi (Spirurida: Filariidae).

To test the susceptibility of Aedes (Gymnometopa) mediovittatus to infection with Brugia pahangi and Brugia malayi, females originating from the suburbs of San Juan, Puerto Rico, were fed on infected gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). On average, 39.2% of the Ae. mediovittatus females became infected with L3 larvae of B. pahangi and 47.4% with B. malayi. The average number of infective L3 larvae of B. pahangi and B. malayi dissected from mosquitoes was 2.6 +/- 1.2 and 2.9 +/- 1.0, respectively. The largest number of L3 in a single mosquito was 16. After 10 d of development in the mosquitoes, L3 larvae of both Brugian species were found in greatest number in the thorax, in lesser number in the head/proboscis, and in least number in the abdomen. Ae. mediovittatus may serve as a useful laboratory model for the study of genetic susceptibility and refractoriness of mosquito vectors to filarial parasites.