title: Gonotrophic cycle and survivorship of Anopheles vestitipennis (Diptera: Culicidae) in two different ecological areas of southern Mexico.
abstract: The duration of the gonotrophic cycle and survivorship of Anopheles vestitipennis Dyar & Knab was estimated in 2 malarious areas of Chiapas, Mexico: the Lacandon Forest and the Pacific Ocean Coastal Plain. Blood-engorged females held in an outdoor cage required 2.75 d for egg maturation, and 3.75 d for the duration of the gonotrophic cycle. Duration of the gonotrophic cycle also was estimated by parous-nulliparous dynamics for 20 consecutive days and autocorrelation time-series analysis, and by mark-recapture techniques. These methods depicted differences between the Lacandon Forest (3-d cycle) and the Coastal Plain (2-3 d cycles). Daily survival rates were estimated vertically and were generally higher in the Lacandon Forest (0.68) than in the Coastal Plain (0.45-0.58). The probability of mosquitoes surviving the sporogonic cycle was 10-100 times greater in the Lacandon Forest. The pregravid rate was 8.2%, and 29.3% of females with primary follicles beyond Christophers' stage III had traces of red blood in the gut. The 1st statistic indicated that 8.2% of females required > 1 blood meal for initial egg development, the 2nd statistic indicated that 29.3% of females take > 1 blood meal during a gonotrophic cycle. In summary, the enhanced vectorial role of this species is explained partially by high longevity and multiple blood-feeding habits.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación de Paludismo, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Arredondo-Jiménez
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Washino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000502:physiology*; D004463:Ecology; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D010058:Oviposition; D012098:Reproduction