Mating does not affect the biting behaviour of Anopheles gambiae from the islands of Sao Tome and Principe, West Africa.

摘要

To determine if mating or gonotrophic age influenced the biting behaviour of Anopheles gambiae s.s., a series of all-night landing captures was performed on the islands of Sao Tome and Principe in the Gulf of Guinea. On Sao Tome 49% and on Principe 56% of the newly emerged An. gambiae taking their first bloodmeal were virgins. On each island, with the exception of recently mated insects on Principe, all age-groups had similar biting cycles. The biting cycle on Principe resembled that observed on continental Africa, with a peak in the latter part of the night. Peak biting on Sao Tome, however, occurred before midnight. Estimated daily survival rates were 0.77 and 0.29 for Sao Tome and Principe, respectively. Mating does not affect the biting behaviour of An. gambiae on these islands.