Blood-meal identification of seven species of mosquitoes (Diptera : Culicidae) collected in Japan

Abstract: Seventeen individuals blood-fed mosquitoes including 7 species were collected in the Kansai area and the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, from 2009 to 2012. The sources of the blood meals were identified by PCR sequencing. The results showed that Aedes bekkui fed on human Homo sapiens, raccoon dog Nyctereutes procyonoides, and wild boar Sus scrofa. Aedes flavopictus miyarai fed on tortoise Cuora flavomarginata evelynae. Verrallina nobukonis fed on human and tortoise. Culex vagans fed on bird, dark-throated thrush Turdus ruficollis; Cx. infantulus fed on cattle; Cx. nigropunctatus fed on bird, night heron Nycticorax nycticorax; and Cx. okinawae fed on otton frog Babina subaspera. Aedes f. miyarai and Cx. infantulus were the first record to feed on cold-blooded animals and warm-blooded animals, respectively.