Resting behaviour as a target for innovative mosquito control strategies

Abstract

This work reviews and discusses how a deeper knowledge of mosquito time-allocation, particularly resting periods, can enhance the effectiveness and deployment of classical vector control tools. As more high-resolution data are gathered by novel tracking devices, follow-up questions investigating mosquito behaviour are likely to arise, requiring the development of comprehensive frameworks to properly collect, summarize and analyse them. We demonstrate how novel stereoscopic 3D mapping tools can generate unique data and discuss available metrics to adequately quantify mosquito behaviour particularly under (semi-) field conditions. Incorporation of mosquito 3D tracking with ecological, evolutionary and quantitative genetics approaches would enable a deeper understanding of the physiological and genetic basis driving resting behaviours. The ability to better determine when, where and how mosquitoes are allocating resting periods might constitute a major input to the advancement of control strategies.