Temperature and age, individually and interactively, shape the size, weight, and body composition of adult female mosquitoes

Abstract

Most insects are poikilotherms and ectotherms, so their body temperature fluctuates and closely aligns with the temperature of their environment. The rise in global temperatures is affecting the physiology of insects by altering their ability to survive, reproduce, and transmit disease. Aging also impacts insect physiology because the body deteriorates via senescence as the insect ages. Although temperature and age both impact insect biology, these factors have historically been studied in isolation. So, it is unknown whether or how temperature and age interact to shape insect physiology. Here, we investigated the effects of warmer temperature (27 °C, 30 °C and 32 °C), aging (1, 5, 10, and 15 days post-eclosion), and their interaction on the size and body composition of the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. We found that warmer temperatures result in slightly smaller adult mosquitoes, as measured by abdomen and tibia length. Aging alters both abdominal length and dry weight in a manner that correlates with the increase in energetic resources and tissue remodeling that occurs after metamorphosis and the senescence-based decline that ensues later. Moreover, the carbohydrate and lipid contents of adult mosquitoes are not meaningfully affected by temperature but are altered by aging: carbohydrate content increases with age whereas lipid content increases over the first few days of adulthood and then decreases. Protein content decreases with both rising temperature and aging, and the aging-associated decrease accelerates at warmer temperatures. Altogether, temperature and age, individually and to a lesser extent interactively, shape the size and composition of adult mosquitoes.