Assessing Survival Rates of Anopheles farauti (Diptera: Culicidae) from Papua New Guinea

Abstract

(1) A population of Anopheles farauti No. 1 from coastal Papua New Guinea was sampled for thirty-two consecutive nights at the end of both the wet and dry seasons, 1982. In the wet season five trapping methods were used, 1453 females were collected and dissected for gonotrophic age determination. In the dry season 5463 females were collected by two trapping methods and 2521 were dissected. (2) Survival rates per oviposition cycle were estimated by four different methods. One of the methods has not previously been described. The estimates ranged between 0.32-0-64 in the wet season and 0.49-0-73 in the dry season. It was concluded that the actual survival rate per cycle was in the range 0.42-0-49 in both seasons. (3) The merits and drawbacks of each method of analysis are discussed. (4) The oviposition cycle interval was estimated as 2.47 days in the wet and 2.20 days in the dry season. The interval between emergence and first blood-meal was estimated as 4 days. (5) Severe rainstorms affected recruitment in the wet season but not in the dry season.