Studies on the resting behaviour and host choice of Anopheles gambiae and An. arabiensis from Muleba, Tanzania.
Charlwood, JD;
Kessy, E;
Yohannes, K;
Protopopoff, N;
Rowland, M;
LeClair, C;
(2018)
Studies on the resting behaviour and host choice of Anopheles gambiae and An. arabiensis from Muleba, Tanzania.
Medical and veterinary entomology, 32 (3).
pp. 263-270.
ISSN 0269-283X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mve.12299
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The relative efficacy of a mechanical (Prokopack) collection method vs. manual aspiration in the collection of resting mosquitoes was evaluated in northern Tanzania before and after an intervention using indoor residual spraying and longlasting insecticide-treated nets. In smoke-free houses mosquitoes were collected from the roof and walls, but in smoky houses mosquitoes were found predominantly on the walls. Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) constituted 97.7% of the 312 An. gambiae complex specimens identified before but only 19.3% of the 183 identified after the intervention. A single sampling with the Prokopack collected a third of the available insects. Anopheles gambiae completed its gonotrophic development indoors, whereas Anopheles arabiensis did so outdoors. In both species gonotrophic development took 2 days. Most unfed resting An. arabiensis collected outdoors were virgins, whereas the majority of engorged insects were parous (with well-contracted sacs). Daily survival was estimated to be 80.0%. Only 9.4% of the engorged An. arabiensis collected outdoors and 47.1% of those collected indoors had fed on humans. Using the Prokopack sampler is more efficient than manual methods for the collection of resting mosquitoes. Malaria transmission may have been affected by a change in vector composition resulting from a change in feeding, rather than reduced survival. Monitoring the proportions of members of the An. gambiae complex may provide signals of an impending breakdown in control.