Relationships between occurrence of Anopheles gambiae s.l. (Diptera: Culicidae) and size and stability of larval habitats.

One potentially important target of malaria vector control is the immature stages of anopheline mosquitoes. To design efficient larval control methods, mechanisms regulating mosquito productivity in natural habitats must be understood. We examined the relationships between pupal occurrence of Anopheles gambiae s.l. and size and stability of larval habitats for a period of 1 yr in western Kenya. We also examined relationships between abundance of indoor resting anophelines and habitat availability. Habitat size was measured by the total water volume (cubic meters). Habitat stability was defined as the number of occurrences when water was continuously present in a habitat for 6 d. Pupal occurrence was indicated by the number of days that pupae were observed in a habitat during the study period. We found that habitat stability and pupal occurrence were positively correlated with habitat size. When habitat size fell below approximately 1 m3, habitat stability and pupal occurrence decreased rapidly. Habitat availability was significantly correlated with the density of indoor resting mosquitoes in houses near to larval sites. These results suggest that habitat size is an important determinant of habitat stability, pupal occurrence, and adult mosquito abundance.