Seasonal abundance, biting cycle, and parity of the mosquito anopheles homunculus in Trinidad, West Indies

ABSTRACT

Seasonal abundance, daily biting activity, and the age composition of adult Anopheles homunculus female populations were monitored weekly during 1989-90 by human bait on the ground at Cumaca Forest, Platanal, Trinidad. Landing collections of An. homunculus showed diurnal and nocturnal activity, with a single peak between 1600 and 2000 hours. Overall, 27.7 percent of An. homunculus were collected during the dry season and 72.3 percent during the wet season. Similar seasonal parous rates were observed in wet (58.9 percent) and dry (56.1 percent) seasons. Diel periodicities of nullipars and pars were almost identical during the wet and dry seasons(AU)