Elina Barredo

Abstract For flying insects, visual control relies on acquiring adequate light, but many circumstances limit this, such as dim environments, high image speeds, or eyes of modest light gathering power. To determine these effects on vinegar flies, we limited light by either placing them in dim conditions, or generating individuals with developmentally smaller eyes, then examined activity levels and three-dimensional flight paths.

Summary To avoid fast attackers, animals must move somewhere their pursuer cannot follow or does not expect. A new study shows that female mosquitoes of either a diurnal or a nocturnal species each exhibit a distinct escape strategy matched to the light level they experience as they hunt for blood.

Highlights For many anthropophilic mosquito species, females benefit from nectar-feeding as they become reproductively mature yet they often skip a nectar meal when given access to a human host during this period. Male mosquito survival and reproductive success requires access to sugar sources. Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae females can survive without sugar meals by increasing their blood consumption. Unlike vertebrate host preference, nectar choices are flexible and often unpredictable.