Data from: Larval diet and temperature alter mosquito immunity and development: using body size and developmental traits to track carry-over effects on longevity

Background: Estimating arbovirus transmission potential requires a
mechanistic understanding of how environmental factors influence the
expression of adult mosquito traits. While preimaginal exposure to
environmental factors can have profound effects on adult traits, tracking
and predicting these effects remains challenging. Methods: Using Aedes
albopictus and a structural equation modelling approach, we explored how
larval nutrition and temperature jointly affect development rate and
success, body size, and whether these metrics capture carry-over effects
on adult longevity. Additionally, we investigated how larval diet and
temperature affect the baseline expression of ten immune genes. Results:
We found that larval development success was primarily determined by diet,
while temperature and diet both affected development rate, pupal wet
weight, and wing length. Effects of diet on both morphometric measures and
their relationships to adult longevity were asymmetrical, with wing length
having a positive association and pupal weight a negative association.
Larval diet indirectly affected adult longevity, and the time to pupation
was negatively correlated with longevity. The expression of eight immune
genes from Toll, JAK-STAT, and Imd pathways was enhanced in mosquitoes
with higher nutrition. Conclusions: Our results highlight deficiencies
from using a single body size measure to capture carry-over effects on
adult traits. Further studies of larval development rate under varying
environmental conditions and its potential for tracking carry-over effects
on vectorial capacity are warranted.