Overview
- Peer‑reviewed work in Current Biology shows that a female’s split‑second genital tip elongation enables interlocking and sperm transfer, establishing that she controls whether mating succeeds.
- Engineered Aedes aegypti males producing red or green fluorescent sperm revealed that more than 90% of females stored a single color, confirming one‑time mating with long‑term sperm storage.
- High‑speed recordings captured males initiating contact with rapidly vibrating gonostyli, with successful copulation only when virgin females elongated the genital tip.
- Aedes albopictus males possess longer gonostyli that can trigger interlocking with A. aegypti females without the female’s elongation response, producing no viable offspring yet blocking future mating in the female.
- Researchers say the species‑specific mechanics may help explain local A. aegypti declines and urge vector‑control programs to account for local mating biology, with follow‑up studies probing the female neural decision pathway.