Distribution and abundance of mosquito larvae in Ohafia, Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

Quite a number of diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes. The abundance and distribution of mosquito vectors are related to the characteristics of larval habitats. A survey of the distribution and abundance of mosquito larvae was carried out at Nkporo and Abiriba Communities of Ohafia, Abia State, Nigeria. It was carried out during the dry and wet seasons from November 2014 to June 2015. The mosquito larvae were collected using dipper and pipette method from five mosquito habitats namely ground pools (58), household containers (213), domestic run-offs (49), gutters (55) and tree holes/leaf axils (43). A total of 2 641 mosquito larvae belonging to three genera and five species were collected. These were; Culex quinquesfaciatus (40%),Aedes aegypti (22%), Aedes albopictus (17%), Anopheles gambiae (14%), and Anopheles funestus (2%), Household containers had the highest number of larvae (60 %), while tree holes/leaf axils had the least (6%). From Nkporo, 53% of the larvae were collected while 47% was from Abiriba community. Anopheles funestus was recorded only in Nkporo community. However, the abundance of mosquito larvae sampled from the different habitats in the two communities were significantly different (X2 = 166,692, df = 16, P<0,05) from each other. There were also significant differences in the seasonal distribution of mosquito larvae in both dry (X2 = 56,865, df = 12, P<0,05) and wet (X2 = 22,241, df = 12, P<0,05) seasons in Nkporo community and dry (X2=31,776, df = 12, P<0,05) season in Abiriba community. These findings are useful in knowledge expansion on the vector ecology with particular interest on the type of habitat preference, this will be helpful in larval control programs.