Editing Plasmodium (section)

=== Insects ===
[[File:Anopheles stephensi.jpeg|thumb|The mosquito ''[[Anopheles stephensi]]'' is among the blood-feeding insects that can be infected by a species of ''Plasmodium''.]]

In addition to a vertebrate host, all ''Plasmodium'' species also infect a [[hematophagy|bloodsucking]] insect host, generally a mosquito (although some reptile-infecting parasites are transmitted by [[sandfly|sandflies]]). Mosquitoes of the genera ''[[Culex]]'', ''[[Anopheles]]'', ''[[Culiseta]]'', ''[[Mansonia (fly)|Mansonia]]'' and ''[[Aedes]]'' act as insect hosts for various ''Plasmodium'' species. The best studied of these are the ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes which host the ''Plasmodium'' parasites of human malaria, as well as ''Culex'' mosquitoes which host the ''Plasmodium'' species that cause malaria in birds. Only female mosquitoes are infected with ''Plasmodium'', since only they feed on the blood of vertebrate hosts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Crompton |first1=Peter D. |last2=Moebius |first2=Jacqueline |last3=Portugal |first3=Silvia |last4=Waisberg |first4=Michael |last5=Hart |first5=Geoffrey |last6=Garver |first6=Lindsey S. |last7=Miller |first7=Louis H. |last8=Barillas-Mury |first8=Carolina |last9=Pierce |first9=Susan K. |date=2014 |title=Malaria Immunity in Man and Mosquito: Insights into Unsolved Mysteries of a Deadly Infectious Disease |journal=Annual Review of Immunology |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=157–187 |doi=10.1146/annurev-immunol-032713-120220 |pmid=24655294 |pmc=4075043}}</ref> Different species affect their insect hosts differently. Sometimes, insects infected with ''Plasmodium'' have reduced lifespan and reduced ability to produce offspring.<ref name=Busula>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.pt.2017.08.010 |pmid=28942108 |title=Mechanisms of Plasmodium -Enhanced Attraction of Mosquito Vectors |journal=Trends in Parasitology |volume=33 |issue=12 |pages=961–973 |year=2017 |last1=Busula |first1=Annette O. |last2=Verhulst |first2=Niels O. |last3=Bousema |first3=Teun |last4=Takken |first4=Willem |last5=De Boer |first5=Jetske G.}}</ref> Further, some species of ''Plasmodium'' appear to cause insects to prefer to bite infected vertebrate hosts over non-infected hosts.<ref name=Busula/><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.cois.2017.02.002 |pmid=28602239 |title=Effects of malaria infection on mosquito olfaction and behavior: Extrapolating data to the field |journal=Current Opinion in Insect Science |volume=20 |pages=7–12 |year=2017 |last1=Stanczyk |first1=Nina M. |last2=Mescher |first2=Mark C. |last3=De Moraes |first3=Consuelo M.|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1101/cshperspect.a025593 |pmid=28389513 |title=Anopheline Reproductive Biology: Impacts on Vectorial Capacity and Potential Avenues for Malaria Control |journal=Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine |volume=7 |issue=12 |pages=a025593 |year=2017 |last1=Mitchell |first1=Sara N. |last2=Catteruccia |first2=Flaminia|pmc=5710097 |author-link2=Flaminia Catteruccia}}</ref>