Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-24hb2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T08:50:09.420Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The biting flies of the Kano Plains, Kenya: Part II. Larval habitats of common mosquito species (Dipt., Culicidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Canute P. M. Khamala
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi, Kenya

Extract

Six natural terrestrial mosquito breeding habitats were recognised in the Kano Plains of Kenya by their condition, i.e. temporary or permanent, presence or absence of emergent plants, and by the chemical and physical characteristics of their water. Between September 1968 and March 1970, 13 mosquito species were found breeding in these habitats. Most species were restricted to a few habitats; only four showed a wide occurrence, being found in at least four. Anopheles gambiae Giles and Culex annulioris Theo. exploited all six habitats, suggesting that the characteristics studied were probably not critical to their selection of a breeding site. Mansonia and Coquillettidia spp. were restricted to habitats with some plants, indicating their dependence on such vegetation for respiration and protection. The indiscriminate selection of breeding sites by disease vectors, e.g. A. gambiae, A. pharoensis Theo. and Culex pipiens fatigans Wied., is worth noting in irrigation schemes.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aders, W. M. (1917). Insects injurious to man and stock in Zanzibar.—Bull. ent. Res. 7, 391401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (A.O.A.C.) (1960). Official methods of analysis.—9th edn, 832 pp. Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Bauer, J. H. (1928). The transmission of yellow fever by mosquitoes other than Aedes aegypti.—Amer. J. trop. Med. 8, 261282.Google Scholar
De Meillon, B. (1947). The Anopheini of the Ethiopian geographical region.—272 pp. Johannesburg, Publ. S. Afr. Inst. med. Res. No. 49.Google Scholar
Evans, A. M. (1938). Mosquitoes of the Ethiopian Region. II. Anophelini, adults and early stages.—402 pp. London, British Museum (Nat. Hist.).Google Scholar
Garnham, P. C. C. (1938). Epidemiology of Anopheles funestus malaria with special reference to tergal plate varieties and maxillary indices.—Acta Conv. ter. trop. Malar. Morb. 2, 161177.Google Scholar
Gillies, M. T. & De Meillon, B. (1968). The Anophelinae of Africa South of the Sahara (Ethiopian Zoogeographical Region).—2nd edn, 343 pp. Johannesburg, Publ. S. Afr. Inst. med. Res. No. 54.Google Scholar
Harvey, D. & Symes, C. B. (1931). Oxygen absorption of natural waters in Nairobi with reference to Anopheline mosquitos.—Bull. ent. Res. 22, 5964.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hicks, E. P. (1932). The transmission of Wuchereria bancrofti in Sierra Leone.—Ann. trop. Med. Parasit. 26, 407422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, G. H. E. (1952). Mosquitoes of the Ethiopian Region. I. Larval bionomics of mosquitoes and taxonomy of Culicine larvae. With notes and addenda by P. F. Mattingly.— 2nd edn, 355 pp. London, British Museum (Nat. Hist.).Google Scholar
Horsfall, W. R. (1955). Mosquitoes, their bionomics and relations to disease.—723 pp. New York, Ronald.Google Scholar
Khamala, C. P. M. (1971). The biting flies of the Kano Plains, Kenya: Part I. A review of their bionomics and suggestions for further research.—African Scientist 3, (in press).Google Scholar
Kinoti, G. K. (1970). Will irrigation work on Kenya's Kano Plains? III. Bilharziasis.—African Scientist 2, 6169.Google Scholar
Surtees, G., Simpson, D. I. H., Bowen, E. T. W. & Grainger, W. E. (1970). Ricefield development and arbovirus epidemiology, Kano Plains, Kenya.—Trans. R. Soc. trop. Med. Hyg. 64, 511522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Symes, C. B. (1931). Report on anophelines and malaria in the Trans-Nzoia district.—Kenya E. Afr. Med. J. 8, 6477.Google Scholar
Symes, C. B. (1932). Notes on the infectivity, food and breeding waters of Anophelines in Kenya.—Rec. med. Res. Lab. Nairobi, no. 4, 128.Google Scholar
Symes, C. B. (1936). Anopheles funestus (Giles) as a ‘domestic’ breeder.—Ann. trop. Med. Parasit. 30, 361364.Google Scholar