Parous and Survival Rate Estimates for Anopheles quadrimaculatus (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Arkansas Grand Prairie

Abstract

Daily parous rates were determined over a period of 31 d for Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say adults from three locations in the eastcentral rice-growing region of Arkansas. Estimates of the average parous rate, oviposition cycle length, and survival rate per oviposition cycle were determined for mosquitoes from each site. Collections from site 1, a rural site where cattle supplied a source for mosquito blood meals, exhibited a parous rate of 32% and an engorgement rate of 97%. The average oviposition cycle was 4 d with a survival rate of 30%. Collections from site 2, a rural site with few blood hosts, exhibited a parous rate of 17% and the engorgement rate was only 2%. The average oviposition cycle and survival rate at this site could not be reliably estimated. Collections from site 3, an urban site where blood hosts were highly available but where an integrated mosquito control program was in effect, yielded a parous rate of 17% and the engorgement rate was 85%. The average oviposition cycle was 4 d with a survival rate of 17%. These data demonstrate the ability of mosquito control to reduce parous and survival rates of A. quadrimaculatus by altering the age structure of abated mosquito populations.