{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T11:23:23Z","timestamp":1787829803129,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787788800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004493","name":"International Atomic Energy Agency","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["D44005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["D44005"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004493","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["D44005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["D44005"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02zt1gg83","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Insects"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is a major vector of arboviruses such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya, posing significant public health risks worldwide. Understanding male mating performance is crucial for optimizing control methods such as the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). The aim of the current study was to investigate the influence of adult male diet on male Ae. albopictus mating success and competitiveness. Three adult diets were tested: 10% sugar solution, 10% molasses solution and 8% sugar solution enriched with 2% hydrolyzed yeast. Results revealed that males fed a molasses-based diet exhibited shorter latency time to mating and higher competitiveness against conspecifics. Male diet had no significant post-mating effects on females, neither due to fecundity nor to egg hatch rates. These findings underline the relevance of nutritional optimization in laboratory rearing. Although molasses-based diets appear promising for improving male quality, any implications for sterile-male release programs should be considered cautiously, as the present results derive solely from laboratory conditions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/insects17090902","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T10:58:21Z","timestamp":1787828301000},"page":"902","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effect of Adult Male Diet on Mating Propensity and Competitiveness of the Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Stefania P.","family":"Kaltsou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8732-8089","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eleni C.","family":"Savvidou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Evaggelia D.","family":"Mpakovasili","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3075-5020","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonios","family":"Michaelakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Insects & Parasites of Medical Importance, Scientific Directorate of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Kifissia, 14561 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2480-8189","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nikos T.","family":"Papadopoulos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"435","DOI":"10.1089\/vbz.2011.0814","article-title":"A review of the invasive mosquitoes in Europe: Ecology, public health risks, and control options","volume":"12","author":"Medlock","year":"2012","journal-title":"Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"World Health Organization, and The United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (2026, June 30). 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