Image of Dengue fever mosquito

Description:

This 2006 photograph depicted a female Aedes aegypti mosquito while she was in the process of acquiring a blood meal from her human host, who in this instance, was actually the biomedical photographer, James Gathany, here at the Centers for Disease Control. The feeding apparatus consisted of a sharp, orange-colored fascicle that was covered in a soft, pliant sheath called the "labellum while not feeding. The labellum was shown here retracted as the sharp "stylets" contained within pierced the host's skin surface, thereby, allowing the insect to obtain its blood meal. The fascicle was composed of a pair of needle-sharp stylets. The larger of the two stylets, known as the "labrum", when viewed in cross-section takes on the shape of an inverted "V", and acts as a gutter, which directs the ingested host blood towards the insect's mouth. Due to the ingestion of the female’s blood meal, the translucent abdominal exoskeleton had taken on a reddish color.
Created: 2006