Mosquitoes feed on researchers’ blood as scientists research methods of control

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s lunchtime at the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District and a colony of sabethes cyaneus — also known as the paddle-legged beauty for its feathery appendages and iridescent coloring — find their way to Ella Branham.

Mosquitoes can carry viruses including dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika. They are especially threatening to public health in Asia and Africa but are also closely monitored in the United States. Local agencies reported more than 1,100 cases of West Nile virus in 2022, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.A colony of sabethes cyaneus blood feed on Ella Branham’s arm.Most humans who contract West Nile show no symptoms.

Branham had volunteered to let the mosquitoes feed on her blood so they can produce eggs and maintain the colony for education and research at the lab.And this year — where an abnormally snowy winter and a very rainy spring left more water across the landscape for mosquitoes to breed in — his staff estimated that there were five times as many mosquitos in May compared to the average year.

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