Abstract
Three species of Mansonioides vectors viz.,Ma. annulifera, Ma. uniformis andMa. indiana were found in Cherthala taluk, Kerala which is one of the endemic areas due toB. malayi. The immatures of Mansonioides thrive mainly in association with macrophytic hydrophytes such asP. stratiotes, S. molesta andE. crassipes in perennial habitats (ponds, channels/ canals etc.,) andI. miliaceae in seasonal habitats (fallow lands etc.) Breeding potential was higher (130.19) in clean ponds withP. stratiotes, compared to that of polluted ones (40.69). However, the polluted habitats infested with the same host plants were found to be the most productive forMa. annulifera, with an average daily adult emergence rate of 601/100 sq.m.). The clean habitats played a major role in the contribution ofMa. uniformis, whereS. molesta in the perennial habitats and I. miliaceae in the seasonal fallow lands were the favourable plants contributing a daily output of 12.5/100 sq.m and 221.81/100 sq.m. respectively.E. crassipes infested polluted habitats formed the major source forMa. indiana, the emergence rate being 13.89/100 sq.m. The perennial habitats supported mainly the breeding ofMa. annulifera (70.82%), whereas the seasonal habitats contributed the major chunk ofMa. uniformis (92.54%) andMa. indiana (71.43%). The bionomics of Mansonioides mosquitoes are thus shown to be greatly influenced by the community structure of hydrophytes and also the nature of breeding habitats.
Key Words: Bionomics, Mansonioides, Hydrophytes
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (232.2 KB).
References
- 1.Yap, H.H. (1985) Review on control of Brugian filariasis vectors, especially Mansonia species. Proc. WHO. Regn. Sem. Control of Brugian filariasis., 131–135
- 2.Wharton, R.H. (1962) The biology of Mansonia mosquitoes in relation to the transmission of filariasis in Malaya. Bull. II. Inst. Med. Res. Kuala Lumpur. 30–39. [PubMed]
- 3.Service M.W. Field Sampling Methods. Second Edition. UK: Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd.; 1993. Mossquito Ecology; pp. 894–897. [Google Scholar]
- 4.Cairncross S., Rajavel A.R., Vanamail P., Subramanian S., Paily K.P., Ramaih K.D., Amalraj D., Mariappan T., Srinivasan R. Engineering, mosquitoes and filariasis: a case report. Jour. Trop. Med. Hyg. 1988;91:101–106. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Sabesan S., Kumar N.P., Krishnamoorthy K., Panicker K.N. Seasonal abundance and biting behaviour ofMansonia annulifera, M. uniformis & M. indiana and their relative role in the transmission of malayan filariasis in Shertallai (Kerala State) Ind. Jour. Med. Res. 1991;93:253–258. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]