Feeding Response in <i>Aedes aegypti</i> : Stimulation by Adenosine Triphosphate

Abstract

Taste receptors which evoke ingestion of blood in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti L., are stimulated by adenosine tetraphosphate, adenosine triphosphate, and adenosine monophosphate, in decreasing order. No other nucleotide is effective. Certain chelators can partially simulate the effect of nucleotides. The feeding response is elicited only at an osmotic pressure close to that of blood, and requires the presence of sodium ions.