Feeding behavior patterns of anophelines from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat states of India.

Identification of host blood meals collected on filter paper in the field from fully fed female anophelines was carried out by a microdot-ELISA; field-caught mosquito species were simultaneously identified. The results indicate that the percentages of mixed feeds, i.e., mosquitoes feeding both on human and cattle hosts to complete a blood meal, was only 3-4%. Human and mixed feeds together accounted for nearly 10% of bloodmeals. Mosquitoes collected from human dwellings did not show a higher percentage of human feeding than cattle feeding. The human blood index was found to be related to the proportion of human and cattle population in an area.