DOI: 10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t5g
title: Self-grooming behavior of <em>Aedes aegypti</em> exposed to <em>Metarhizium humberi</em> formulation

description: Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera, Culicidae), the key vector of viral diseases to
 humans in the tropics, is susceptible to infection with entomopathogenic
 fungi. Self-grooming behavior, which has still been little studied in
 mosquitoes, may possibly interfere with fungal infection through the
 cuticle. In this study, self-grooming by A. aegypti adults exposed to
 Metarhizium humberi Luz, Rocha & Delalibera 2019 (Hypocreales,
 Clavicipitaceae) conidia mixed or not with micronized carnauba wax (MCW)
 led to a decrease of non-germinated conidia and early germinating stages
 from their body surface up to 24 hours after exposure to a fungus-treated
 surface. Adults showed a low-level, spontaneous, and stimulus-independent
 self-grooming behavior that was distinctly increased after exposure to
 conidia mixed or not with MCW or solely to MCW. The first pair of legs
 scraped synchronously the proboscis, antennae, and wings; legs of the
 third pair scraped each other as well as synchronously the first and
 second pairs of legs, and the gonapophyses. Conidia, mixed or not with
 MCW, or MCW were readily detected on tarsi, tibias, and femurs, especially
 of the first and second leg pairs, gonapophyses, proboscis, antennae, and
 wings, immediately after exposure. In mobile adults, mean conidial numbers
 dropped approximately fivefold in the 24 hours immediately following
 exposure, especially in the first 6 hours, regardless of the conidial
 preparation, and then, to a lesser extent, in the remaining 18 hours.
 Conidial loss was distinctly lower or insignificant in cold-immobilized
 individuals in the same period. MCW did not increase the number of conidia
 on the cuticle or enhance their permanence on the cuticle during the
 tested period. These findings strengthen the importance of considering
 self-grooming of mosquitoes in particular A. aegypti, the vector examined
 here, when developing specific fungal formulations for biological control.
description: # Self-grooming behavior of *Aedes aegypti* exposed to *Metarhizium
 humberi* formulation --- We have submitted 11 comma-separated value (CSV)
 data files documenting behavioral observations, fungal localization, and
 surface contamination related to self-grooming activity in *Aedes aegypti*
 (Diptera: Culicidae) adults exposed to *Metarhizium humberi* (Hypocreales:
 Clavicipitaceae) conidia, micronized carnauba wax (MCW), or their
 combination. The data capture the influence of fungal and wax treatments
 on grooming frequency, body-surface contamination, and conidial
 persistence over time. Each dataset corresponds to one experimental figure
 (Fig. 1–4) from the associated publication, subdivided by treatment type:
 *C* (conidia only), *C+MCW* (conidia + micronized carnauba wax), and *MCW*
 (micronized carnauba wax only). --- ## Descriptions ### **Fig_1_C.csv**,
 **Fig_1_C_MCW.csv**, **Fig_1_MCW.csv** These files contain behavioral
 observation data for *Aedes aegypti* adults following exposure to
 fungus-treated or wax-treated surfaces corresponding to **Figure 1** of
 the associated study. Data describes the frequency of flying, walking, and
 scraping movements observed for 60 minutes post-exposure. Body-part
 abbreviations: * *Le1*: forelegs * *Le2*: middle legs * *Le3*: hind legs *
 *Go*: gonapophyses * *Wi*: wings * *An*: antennae (scraping structures) *
 *Pr*: proboscis * *He*: head * *Th*: thorax * *Ab*: abdomen --- ###
 **Fig_2_C.csv**, **Fig_2_C_MCW.csv**, **Fig_2_MCW.csv** These datasets
 correspond to **Figure 2**, which documents the frequency of scraping
 movements between specific body parts (*) --- ### **Fig_3_C.csv**,
 **Fig_3_C_MCW.csv**, **Fig_3_CW.csv** These datasets correspond to
 **Figure 3**, which reports the localization of condidia in adults of
 *Aedes aegypti* examined immediately (0 h) and then 24 h (semiquantitative
 presence of conidia) with a microscope. * Scraping frequency score: -:
 none; ±: few; +: clearly visible; ++: abundant. --- ### **Fig_4_C.csv**,
 **Fig_4_C_MCW.csv** Files corresponding to **Figure 4** report the number
 of *M. humberi* conidia on the mosquito body surface at multiple time
 points after exposure. The number of colony-forming units (CFUs) was also
 quantified. --- ## Key Information Sources All data were collected through
 direct laboratory observation of adult *Aedes aegypti* under controlled
 exposure to *M. humberi* conidia, MCW, or both. No external datasets were
 used. --- ## Code/Software No custom code was required to process these
 datasets. All files are provided as comma-separated values (.csv) and can
 be opened using: * Microsoft Excel (2010 or later) * LibreOffice Calc (7.0
 or later) * R, Python, or similar analytical software supporting .csv
 imports