Olayemi I.K., Ande A.T., Danlami G., Abdullahi U.
Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria; Department of Zoology, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria
Olayemi, I.K., Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria; Ande, A.T., Department of Zoology, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria; Danlami, G., Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria; Abdullahi, U., Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
This study elucidated the influence of blood meal type on reproductive performance of Anopheles gambiae s.s. Starting from three days old, An. gambiae mosquitoes, from a laboratory colony maintained following1 standard anopheline rearing techniques, were offered seven different blood meal types, through an artificial membrane. Thereafter, the mosquitoes were monitored for pre-larval and immature stage reproductive attributes. The results indicated that except for Embryony Period (EP) and Pupal Stage Duration (PSD), all attributes investigated varied significantly (p<0.05) among blood meals. While Blood Feeding Rate (BFR) was significantly highest and least in groups of mosquitoes fed with human (Mean = 94.69±3.36%) and pig (Mean = 48.54±10.13%) blood meals, respectively; the shortest Pre-oviposition Period (POP) were recorded among mosquitoes given human and cattle blood meals (Mean = 3.96±0.88 and 4.30±1.25 days, respectively). Also, human blood meal was the most ideal for Oviposition Rate (OR) (Mean = 79.20±12.39%) while chicken and pig blood meals were the least favourable (Mean = 46.80±9.55 and 48.05±6.34%, respectively). Fecundity (F) had similar distribution pattern as BFR while Egg Hatching Rate (HER) was generally low (<60%), irrespective of blood meal type. While Total Immature Stage Duration (TISD) varied widely among blood meal types, Total Larval Stage Duration (TLSD) was only significantly (p<0.05) longest in mosquitoes fed with pig blood meal (12.33±1.63 days). The epidemiological implications of these results were highlighted and discussed. © 2011 Academic Journals Inc.
