In many species of human biting mosquitoes (including Ae. aegypti, An. gambiae and Cx. quinquefasciatus), hearing plays a major role in mating. Males identify females by listening for her sexually dimorphic Wing Beat Frequency (WBF). Females do not show equivalent attraction to male WBF. These sexual dimorphisms in hearing behavior are underpinned by sexual dimorphisms in hearing systems; male ears are tuned to different sound frequencies and are more sensitive. Whilst the hearing behaviors of human biting species remain unclear, females from non-human biting species can show attraction to sound. Ur. lowii females listen for frog calls to locate blood meals. Furthermore, females from human biting species still show signatures of auditory processing, with calcium imaging recordings from female Ae. aegypti brains showing clear frequency preferences during sound stimulation. Further research into female human biting mosquito hearing is necessary to elucidate female hearing behaviors.
Female mosquito hearing function can differ across species. For example, the sister species Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus have different ear vibration frequencies. Ae. aegypti tends to live in urban areas, whilst Ae. albopictus typically live in semi-urban areas and forests. These differences in habitat may be linked to differences in hearing function. Expanding this more broadly, mosquitoes can exist across multiple environments, including urban areas and mountains. Some species can only be found in forests, whilst others share habitat with humans. Thus, they may derive different hearing characteristics for mating and survival. I therefore hypothesize that female mosquito hearing function may be linked to habitat. For example, hearing function may be related to predator avoidance behaviors, which are common in insects.
In this study, I investigate mosquito hearing characteristics in 8 species, including Aedes, Anopheles, Armigeres, Culex, Tripteroides and Uranotaenia. I compared their hearing functions on physiological and morphological level. Then test sex-related hearing behaviors, to better understanding species-specific auditory traits.