Observations on the swarming and mating behaviour of Anopheles funestus from southern Mozambique
Abstract Background Control of malaria by the release of genetically modified mosquitoes refractory to transmission is now becoming a possibility. In many areas of Africa, Anopheles gambiae is found together with an equally important vector, An. funestus . Given their sympatry and the likelihood of...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:679538f887c240feaf8dd33540f6600d 2023-05-15T15:16:38+02:00 Observations on the swarming and mating behaviour of Anopheles funestus from southern Mozambique Thompson R Charlwood JD Madsen H 2003-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-2-2 https://doaj.org/article/679538f887c240feaf8dd33540f6600d EN eng BMC http://www.malariajournal.com/content/2/1/2 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-2-2 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/679538f887c240feaf8dd33540f6600d Malaria Journal, Vol 2, Iss 1, p 2 (2003) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 article 2003 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-2-2 2022-12-31T02:01:53Z Abstract Background Control of malaria by the release of genetically modified mosquitoes refractory to transmission is now becoming a possibility. In many areas of Africa, Anopheles gambiae is found together with an equally important vector, An. funestus . Given their sympatry and the likelihood of a similar mating period some aspects of the mating behaviour of An. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus are likely to differ. We therefore attempted to characterise the swarming behaviour of An. funestus and to determine if any aspects of the observed behaviour differed from that recorded for the M form of An. gambiae from São Tomé. Methods In March – May 2002 the swarming, mating, house exiting and resting behaviour of Anopheles funestus was studied by direct observation in Mozambique. Swarming males and insects in copula were collected by sweep net. Wing lengths of males collected resting, exiting houses, swarming and mating were measured and the wingbeat frequency distribution of individual insects, in free flight confined inside netting covered paper cups, was also determined. Results Mono-specific swarms occurred at sunset in relatively open areas close to houses used for resting. Mating pairs were seen 11 ± 3.7 min after the start of swarming. The number of total pairs observed being inversely proportional to the time difference between the start of swarming and the first pairing. The great majority of females mated before feeding. Male or female size did not appear to affect mating success or other behaviours. During the study, ambient temperatures decreased and female, but not male, wing size increased. At 516 Hz, the flight tone of female An. funestus was similar to the 497 Hz of the local An. gambiae. Males dispersed if light or dark artificial horizontal markers were placed underneath naturally occurring swarms. Conclusion Differential response to markers would be sufficient for swarming in An. funestus and An. gambiae s.l. to occur in distinct sites. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Malaria Journal 2 1 2 |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Thompson R Charlwood JD Madsen H Observations on the swarming and mating behaviour of Anopheles funestus from southern Mozambique |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
description |
Abstract Background Control of malaria by the release of genetically modified mosquitoes refractory to transmission is now becoming a possibility. In many areas of Africa, Anopheles gambiae is found together with an equally important vector, An. funestus . Given their sympatry and the likelihood of a similar mating period some aspects of the mating behaviour of An. gambiae s.l. and An. funestus are likely to differ. We therefore attempted to characterise the swarming behaviour of An. funestus and to determine if any aspects of the observed behaviour differed from that recorded for the M form of An. gambiae from São Tomé. Methods In March – May 2002 the swarming, mating, house exiting and resting behaviour of Anopheles funestus was studied by direct observation in Mozambique. Swarming males and insects in copula were collected by sweep net. Wing lengths of males collected resting, exiting houses, swarming and mating were measured and the wingbeat frequency distribution of individual insects, in free flight confined inside netting covered paper cups, was also determined. Results Mono-specific swarms occurred at sunset in relatively open areas close to houses used for resting. Mating pairs were seen 11 ± 3.7 min after the start of swarming. The number of total pairs observed being inversely proportional to the time difference between the start of swarming and the first pairing. The great majority of females mated before feeding. Male or female size did not appear to affect mating success or other behaviours. During the study, ambient temperatures decreased and female, but not male, wing size increased. At 516 Hz, the flight tone of female An. funestus was similar to the 497 Hz of the local An. gambiae. Males dispersed if light or dark artificial horizontal markers were placed underneath naturally occurring swarms. Conclusion Differential response to markers would be sufficient for swarming in An. funestus and An. gambiae s.l. to occur in distinct sites. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thompson R Charlwood JD Madsen H |
author_facet |
Thompson R Charlwood JD Madsen H |
author_sort |
Thompson R |
title |
Observations on the swarming and mating behaviour of Anopheles funestus from southern Mozambique |
title_short |
Observations on the swarming and mating behaviour of Anopheles funestus from southern Mozambique |
title_full |
Observations on the swarming and mating behaviour of Anopheles funestus from southern Mozambique |
title_fullStr |
Observations on the swarming and mating behaviour of Anopheles funestus from southern Mozambique |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observations on the swarming and mating behaviour of Anopheles funestus from southern Mozambique |
title_sort |
observations on the swarming and mating behaviour of anopheles funestus from southern mozambique |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-2-2 https://doaj.org/article/679538f887c240feaf8dd33540f6600d |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Malaria Journal, Vol 2, Iss 1, p 2 (2003) |
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http://www.malariajournal.com/content/2/1/2 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-2-2 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/679538f887c240feaf8dd33540f6600d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-2-2 |
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Malaria Journal |
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2 |
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1 |
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1766346940846440448 |