Age-groups and the Biting Cycle in Anopheles gambiae. A preliminary Investigation

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Abstract
A technique for dividing populations of Anopheles gambiae Giles into three age-groups, on the basis of the degree of ovarian development and on the presence of sporozoites in the salivary glands, has previously been described. Using this method, the proportions of the three age-groups amongst females feeding during the three periods into which the night was divided were established for this mosquito in the coastal region of Tanganyika. The feeding activity of newly emerged females followed fairly closely that of older mosquitos, in which entry into experimental huts reached a peak in the period between 2200 and 0200 hr. but remained high from 0200–0530 hr. The younger females were, however, slightly more active in the period before 2200 hr. No difference in fertilisation rate was observed amongst newly emerged females caught in different periods of the night. Infective females were caught in all three periods of the night.It is not considered that the main features of the biting cycle in A. gambiae can be explained in terms of the differential activity of the age-groups recognised in this paper.

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