Female mosquitoes need a blood meal to reproduce, and in obtaining this essential nutrient they transmit deadly pathogens. Although crucial for the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, blood feeding remains poorly understood due to technological limitations. Indeed, studies often expose human subjects to assess biting behavior. Here, we present the biteOscope, a device that attracts mosquitoes to a host mimic which they bite to obtain an artificial blood meal. The host mimic is transparent, allowing high-resolution imaging of the feeding mosquito. Using machine learning, we extract detailed behavioral statistics describing the locomotion, pose, biting, and feeding dynamics of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Anopheles stephensi, and Anopheles coluzzii. In addition to characterizing behavioral patterns, we discover that the common insect repellent DEET repels Anopheles coluzzii upon contact with their legs. The biteOscope provides a new perspective on mosquito blood feeding, enabling the high-throughput quantitative characterization of this lethal behavior.

中文翻译：

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BiteOscope，一个研究蚊子叮咬行为的开放平台


雌性蚊子需要吸血来繁殖，在获得这种必需营养的过程中，它们会传播致命的病原体。尽管吸血对于蚊媒疾病的传播至关重要，但由于技术限制，人们对吸血仍知之甚少。事实上，研究经常让人类受试者来评估咬合行为。在这里，我们展示了“bitOscope”，这是一种将蚊子吸引到模仿宿主的装置，蚊子叮咬宿主以获得人造血粉。宿主模拟物是透明的，可以对进食的蚊子进行高分辨率成像。利用机器学习，我们提取了详细的行为统计数据，描述了埃及伊蚊、白纹伊蚊、史氏按蚊和按蚊的运动、姿势、咬合和进食动态。除了表征行为模式之外，我们还发现常见的驱虫剂避蚊胺在接触按蚊的腿时会驱赶它们。 bidOscope 为蚊子吸血提供了新的视角，能够对这种致命行为进行高通量定量表征。