The problem of exophily in Anopheles gambiae.

Abstract

Studies of the exophily exhibited by anophelines in a humid coastal area and in an arid inland region of Tanganyika gave very different results. In the former area, catches of A. gambiae were scanty and largely composed of unfed and gravid females, while in the latter, large numbers of mosquitos were caught outside and a great many of them were recently fed females. The differences are attributed primarily to the presence outside of large herds of cattle in the inland region and to their absence near the coast.The reports of exophily from other parts of Africa are also analysed and show that there is much variation in the behaviour of A. gambiae in different regions. Some of the variation can be explained in terms of environmental differences, particularly in the availability at night of different hosts. But some of it may be genetically determined. It is suggested that the main task in this field is twofold: firstly, to establish the existence and nature of the behaviour differences described; secondly, to study in detail the mosquitos that survive as exophilic populations in areas where systematic house-spraying is in operation.