Species composition of the Anopheles gambiae complex (diptera: Culicidae) at two sites in western Kenya.

At two sites in the Kisumu area of western Kenya, the species composition of the Anopheles gambiae complex was determined by analysis of ovarian polytene chromosomes. Of 1,915 females, 26.1% were An. arabiensis Patton and 73.9% were An. gambiae Giles; one arabiensis x gambiae hybrid was identified. No major differences in the proportions of An. arabiensis and An. gambiae were observed between sites or between years. The ratio of An. arabiensis/An. gambiae was 6.7:1 (n = 231) in cow-baited traps, 0.2:1 (n = 1,525) in indoor resting samples, and 0.5:1 (n = 145) in all-night human bait catches. The proportion of An. arabiensis decreased progressively from 50.0% to 8.3% (n = 1,129) during 11 wk from September to November 1987; this change was correlated negatively with night temperature and positively with temperature range. In cow-baited traps, 97.4% (n = 194) of An. arabiensis were cow-fed and 95.8% (n = 1,054) of An. gambiae from indoor resting collections were human-fed. In indoor collections, 37.2% (n = 215) of An. arabiensis were cow-fed and 23.1% (n = 26) of An. gambiae from cow traps were human-fed. This demonstrates post-blood-feeding endophily by An. arabiensis and suggests post-blood-feeding exophily by An. gambiae. Malaria infection rates were higher for An. gambiae than for An. arabiensis by a ratio of 3:1 in 1986 (by Plasmodium falciparum ELISA) and 2.3:1 in 1987 (by dissection). Despite the higher proportion of infective An. gambiae, both species in this area serve as efficient vectors through their remarkably stable contact with the human population as demonstrated by their blood feeding and resting behavior.