Dietary choices in Aedes albopictus are influenced by day-length

Temperate Aedes albopictus lay diapausing eggs when day-length decreases in the Fall. We hypothesized that females reared in short-day conditions (8:16 L:D) would alter their dietary choices to favor the production of diapausing eggs when compared to females reared in long-day conditions (16:8 L:D). We offered blood and sugar meals concurrently every three days, and tracked the choice patterns of 40 females in each condition. Long-day females were 3 times more likely to choose blood first, and overall, short-day females took 33% more sugar meals. This may suggest that bite-rates per female are altered in the Fall.