Mosquitoes of the Kano Plain, Kenya: II. Results of outdoor collections in irrigated and nonirrigated areas using human and animal bait and light traps

Abstract
The results of catches of exophilic mosquitoes using light traps and human and animal bait confirmed our earlier observations on the Kano Plain that irrigation has had a marked effect on the local mosquito fauna. Monks Wood light traps placed under the outside eaves of houses and away from areas of human settlement caught large numbers of Anopheles gambiae s.l., An. ziemanni, and An. pharoensis on the Ahero Pilot Rice Scheme, while on the nonirrigated Kano Plain catches were predominantly Mansonia uniformis and Ma. africana. The major species taken on animal bait at Ahero was Culex poicilipes, while on the Kano Plain Ma. uniformis again made up the bulk of the catch. The use of a human-baited drop net out-of-doors enabled us to determine the outdoor biting activities of the common species of the Kano Plain. A series of 98 twelve-hr Monks Wood light trap catches made under the eaves of houses gave information on flight activities and has enabled us to suggest in this paper that, in the case of An. gambiae s.l., An. funestus and An. pharoensis, flight activity is followed by a period of quiescence before the mosquitoes begin to bite; in most of the other common mosquitoes of the area, flight and biting activity follow each other closely.

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