The Role Of Grasses In Natural Breeding Habitats Of Gravid Female Anopheles Mosquitoes (diptera Culicidae) On Oviposition Preference As Well As Larval Development And Survival

The malaria vectors Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles coluzzii are widely distributed in sub-rnSaharan Africa, the region with the highest malaria burden in the tropics. Previous researchrnfindings show both positive and negative correlations between Anopheles larvae productivity andrnvegetation in and close to breeding habitats. The aim of the present studies is to determinernspecies specific association between Anopheles mosquitoes and grasses in natural habitats.rnLarval sampling in natural breeding sites associated with grasses was used as a proxy to identifyrnthe link between grasses and oviposition preference in Anopheles mosquitoes. Grasses have theirrnown impacts on the life cycle and oviposition behavior of mosquitoes and exploiting theirrnpotential in vector control is a novel approach.rnOviposition behaviour of Anopheles mosquitoes is odour-mediated and behavioural response ofrnAn. arabiensis and An. gambiae/An. coluzzi to volatile extracts of grasses using oviposition andrnattraction bioassays were investigated. The results showed that grass volatiles affectrndifferentially oviposition site selection by Anopheles mosquitoes. Both the larval Anopheles inrnnatural breeding habitats and gravid female of An. arabiensis and An. coluzzi in laboratoryrndemonstrated strong preference to Poaceae grasses than Typhaceae and Cyperaceae grasses (P

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