Middle East DVEP - Armed Forces Pest Management Board

General Bionomics. Female anopheline mosquitoes must ingest a bloodmeal in orderfor their eggs to develop. Feeding activity begins at dusk for many species, althoughmany others feed only later at night or at dawn. Most anophelines feed on exposed legs,although some may feed on arms, ears and the neck. Infected females feed intermittentlyand thus may bite several people. Eggs mature in 3 to 4 days and are deposited one at atime in primarily clean water, with or without emergent vegetation, depending upon themosquito species. A single female may deposit up to 200 eggs. Mosquito larvae feed onorganic debris and minute organisms living in aquatic habitats. Oviposition sites includeground pools, stream pools, slow moving streams, animal footprints, artificial watervessels, and marshes. Deep water (over one meter in depth) is generally unsuitable forlarval development. There are 4 larval instars that generally require 1 to 2 weeks to reachthe nonfeeding pupal stage. The pupa is active and remains in the water for several daysto a week prior to adult emergence. The life span of females is usually only 2 to 3 weeks,although under ideal conditions female mosquitoes may live for 2 to 3 months.Longevity of individual species varies. A long life span is an important characteristic ofa good vector. The older the anopheline population is in an endemic area, the greater thepotential for transmission. Males live only a few days. Females mate within swarms ofmales, usually one female per swarm. Males and females both feed on plant sugars andnectar to provide energy for flight and other activities.The specific larval habitats of important Anopheles in the Middle East include:An. arabiensis- pools, borrow pits, rice fields, and animal hoofprints.An. claviger -wells and cisterns.An. culicifacies- pools, usually with partial sun exposure, and without emergentvegetation.An. d’thali- stagnant stream pools, brackish swamps, or flowing drains.An. fluviatilis –stream pools and margins of rocky streams, with or without vegetation;also favors pools formed by seepage from rice fields.An. maculipennis –fresh or brackish marshes, swamps, or rice fields.An. pharoensis –marshes, swamps, and rice fields; prefers emergent vegetation.An. pulcherrimus –streams, stream pools, rice fields, and date palm irrigation plots.An. sacharovi –grassy pools containing fresh or brackish water, often in coastal regions.An. sergentii –springs and irrigation systems for date palms and rice.An. stephensi –cisterns, borrow pits, and artificial water containers in urban areas, or inground pools in rural areas; larvae can develop in water that is polluted, brackish, orfresh.An. superpictus –clear, sunlit water, usually without vegetation.Adult Feeding, Resting, and Flight Behavior. Anopheles spp. that are stronglyattracted to humans are usually more important as vectors than those species that arestrongly zoophilic. Anopheles generally fly only short distances from their breeding sites.This is important when determining how far from military cantonments to conductlarviciding operations. Vectors that feed and rest indoors are more susceptible to controlby residual insecticides.70