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How to Dissect Mosquitos for Parity

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By Jonathan F.
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In the study of mosquito-borne disease, one of the most important components is the parity of female mosquitos. A mosquito is parous if it has given birth to a batch of eggs; it is nulliparous if it has not. The only way to determine this is to look inside the mosquito and see for yourself.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  • Gravid trap
  • Industrial freezer
  • Minuten needle
  • Microscope
  1. Step 1

    Capture mosquitos. This is best achieved by a gravid trap, a fan-and-net contraption that is best located above a pool of stagnant, festering water. The mosquitos are drawn to the water to lay their eggs, and are then sucked up by the fan into the net, where they can't escape.

  2. Step 2

    Once captured, tie off the net and throw it into a freezer, so as to kill the specimens. Even with industrial freezers, this tends to take at least fifteen minutes: any less and they might revive on the operating table, and fly off. Give them a half an hour to be on the safe side.

  3. Step 3

    Now frozen, retrieve the mosquitos - the fresher the better. Place a female specimen on a clean slide with a dollop of diluted water. This is done to prevent excessive dryness.

  4. Step 4

    Obtain a very fine needle - ideally a minuten needle, which is a brand of needles that is specially-made for use in laboratories. Under a microscope, place the needle firmly in-between the second and third abdominal segments from the posterior (the rear end) of the specimen.

  5. Step 5

    Slowly, slide the needle out and away from the mosquito body. Fragile mosquito innards will be drawn outwards, which under the microscope will resemble extraordinarily fine pasta. The ovaries should tumble out with the rest of these organs, and will be opaque and globular.

  6. Step 6

    Scrutinize the extent to which the mosquito's fallopian tubes are gnarled and twisted. Relatively uncurled tubes are the telltale sign of a mosquito that has never before given birth. The more knotted these tubes, the more times this mosquito has laid a batch of eggs.

  7. Step 7

    Practice, practice, practice.

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