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Odour‐mediated host preference of Culex quinquefasciatus in Tanzania
Author(s) -
Mboera L.E.G.,
Takken W.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
entomologia experimentalis et applicata
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.765
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1570-7458
pISSN - 0013-8703
DOI - 10.1046/j.1570-7458.1999.00527.x
Subject(s) - culex quinquefasciatus , biology , host (biology) , tanzania , carbon dioxide , zoology , culex , veterinary medicine , ecology , larva , environmental planning , medicine , aedes aegypti , environmental science
Field experiments to determine the host preference of Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae) between man, calf and goat, were conducted in Muheza, north‐east Tanzania. The responses of the mosquito to the three hosts were also compared to their responses to carbon dioxide. A total of 2565 unfed female mosquitoes were collected, of which Cx quinquefasciatus accounted for 96.6% of the catch. A human‐baited tent caught a larger number of host‐seeking Cx quinquefasciatus than a calf‐baited or goat‐baited tent ( P<0.05 ). The man:calf ratio was 7.8:1 while the man:goat ratio was 10:1. The difference in response to either a calf‐ or goat‐baited tent was not statistically significant ( P>0.05 ). The number of mosquitoes attracted to a human‐baited tent was significantly larger than that attracted to carbon dioxide released at 300 ml min −1 . Only 25.3% of the human host attractancy was attributed to carbon dioxide. The number of Cx quinquefasciatus responding to a tent baited with a calf or goat was not significantly different from the number responding to a tent baited with carbon dioxide. It can be concluded that with equal availability of the three vertebrate hosts, Cx quinquefasciatus would respond more to volatile cues from a human host than from either a calf or goat, thereby supporting earlier data about its high degree of anthropophily. The major olfactory cue from a goat or a calf to which this mosquito responds is probably carbon dioxide.