Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T18:38:20.210Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The direction of flight of mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae) near the ground in West African savanna in relation to wind direction, in the presence and absence of bait

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

W. F. Snow
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9BQ, England

Abstract

The direction of mosquito flight near the ground, in relation to wind direction, was investigated at Keneba in The Gambia, West Africa. Directional flight traps facing eight directions sampled mosquitoes flying between ground level and 1·4 m, and unbaited and baited catches with a calf at the centre of the trap circle were performed. Data on non-host-oriented flight were obtained for unfed female Anopheles melas (Theo.), Culex thalassius Theo. and C. tritaeniorhynchus Giles from the unbaited catches, and from all catches of unfed females of the C. deceits group, and gravid and male mosquitoes, which did not respond to the calf. The baited catches included large numbers of A. melas, C. thalassius and C. tritaeniorhynchus, and fewer Anopheles squamosus Theo. and A. ziemanni Grünb. In both unbaited and baited situations, flight appeared to be in a predominantly upwind direction, although mere was some indication, in the presence of a calf, of convergence into the host stream.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

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

Barynin, J. A. M. & Wilson, M. J. G. (1972). Outdoor experiments on smell.—Atmos. Environ. 6, 197207.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bertram, D. S. & McGregor, I. A. (1956). Catches in The Gambia, West Africa, of Anopheles gambiae Giles and A. gambiae var. melas Theobald in entrance traps of a baited portable wooden hut, with special reference to the effect of wind direction.—Bull. ent. Res. 47, 669681.Google Scholar
Bonnet, D. D. & Worcester, D. J. (1946). The dispersal of Aedes albopictus in the territory of Hawaii.—Am. J. trop. Med. 26, 465476.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bossert, W. H. & Wilson, E. O. (1963). The analysis of olfactory communication among animals.—J. theor. Biol. 5, 443469.Google Scholar
Croxton, F. E. (1953). Elementary statistics with applications in medicine and biological sciences.—376 pp. New York, Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
De Meillon, B. (1935). Anopheles funestus Giles in relation to its host.—Publs S. Afr. Inst. med. Res. no. 35, 358365.Google Scholar
Dow, R. P. & Morris, C. D. (1972). Wind factors in the operation of a cylindrical bait trap for mosquitoes.—J. med. Entomol. 9, 6066.Google Scholar
Eliason, D. A, & Bailey, S. F. (1962). A wind directional trap for mosquitoes.—Mosquito. News 22, 404405.Google Scholar
Geiger, R. (1965). The climate near the ground. 4th edn.611 pp. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Giglioli, M. E. C. (1965). The influence of irregularities in the bush perimeter of the cleared agricultural belt around a Gambian village on the flight range and direction of approach of a population of Anopheles gambiae melas.—Int. Congr. Ent. 12, 757758.Google Scholar
Gillies, M. T. (1969). The ramp trap, an unbaited device for flight studies of mosquitoes.—Mosquito News 29, 189193.Google Scholar
Gillies, M. T. & Wilkes, T. J. (1969). A comparison of the range of attraction of animal baits and of carbon dioxide for some West African mosquitoes.—Bull. ent. Res. 59, 441456.Google Scholar
Gillies, M. T. & Wilkes, T. J. (1970). The range of attraction of single baits for some West African mosquitoes.—Bull. ent. Res. 60, 225235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gillies, M. T. & Wilkes, T. J. (1972). The range of attraction of animal baits and carbon dioxide for mosquitoes. Studies in a freshwater area of West Africa.—Bull. ent. Res. 61, 389404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haskell, P. T. (1966). Flight behaviour. In Haskell, P. T. (Ed.) Insect behaviour.—Symp. R. entomol.Soc. Lond. no. 3, 2945.Google Scholar
Hocking, B.(1953). The intrinsic range and speed of flight of insects.—Trans. R. ent. Soc. Lond. 104, 223346.Google Scholar
Hocking, B. (1963). The use of attractants and repellents in vector control.—Bull. Wld Hlth Org. 29 suppl., 121126.Google Scholar
Hocking, B. (1971). Blood-sucking behavior of terrestrial arthropods.—A. Rev. Ent. 16, 126.Google Scholar
Kennedy, J. S. (1940). The visual responses of flying mosquitoes.—Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. (A) 109, 221242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, J. S. (1951). The migration of the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria Forsk.). I. The behaviour of swarms. II. A theory of long-range migrations.—Phil. Trans. R. Soc. (B) 235, 163290.Google Scholar
Klassen, W. & Hocking, B. (1964). The influence of a deep river valley system on the dispersal of Aedes mosquitoes.—Bull. ent. Res. 55, 289304.Google Scholar
Le Prince, J. A. & Orenstein, A. J. (1916). Mosquito control in Panama.—335 pp. New York, Putnam.Google Scholar
Lewis, T. & Siddorn, J. W. (1959). A simple portable recorder for direction and speed of wind.—J. Anim. Ecol. 28, 377380.Google Scholar
Nayar, J. K. & Sauerman, D. M. Jr (1972). Flight performance and fuel utilization as a function, of age in female Aedes taeniorhynchus.—Israel J. Entomol. 7, 2735.Google Scholar
Nayar, J. K. & Sauerman, D. M. Jr (1973). A comparative study of flight performance and fuel utilization as a function of age in females of Florida mosquitoes.—J. Insect. Physiol. 19, 19771988.Google Scholar
Provost, M. W. (1960). The dispersal of Aedes taeniorhynchus. III. Study methods for migratory exodus.—Mosquito News 20, 148161.Google Scholar
Ramsdell, J. V. Jr & Hinds, W. T. (1971). Concentration fluctuations and peak-to-mean concentration ratios in plumes from a ground-level continuous point source.—Atmos. Environ. 5, 483495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowley, W. A. (1970). Laboratory flight ability of the mosquito Culex tarsalis Coq.—J. med. Entomol. 7, 713716.Google Scholar
Rowley, W. A. & Graham, C. L. (1968). The effect of age on the flight performance of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.—J. Insect. Physiol. 14, 719728.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snow, W. F. (1975). The vertical distribution of flying mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae) in West African savanna.—Bull. ent. Res. 65, 269277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, L. R. (1958). Aphid dispersal and diurnal periodicity.—Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. 169, 1773.Google Scholar
Van Thiel, P. H. (1937). Quelles sont les excitations incitant l'Anopheles maculipennis atroparvus à visiter et à piquer l'homme ou le bétail.—Bull. Soc. Path. exot. 30, 193203.Google Scholar
Wright, R. H. (1958). The olfactory guidance of flying insects.—Can. Ent. 90, 8189.Google Scholar