BiteOscope, an open platform to study mosquito biting behavior.

Abstract

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 <i>Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Anopheles stephensi,</i> and <i>Anopheles coluzzii</i>. In addition to characterizing behavioral patterns, we discover that the common insect repellent DEET repels <i>Anopheles coluzzii</i> 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.