Anopheles claviger
| Anopheles claviger | |
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| Species: | A. claviger
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| Anopheles claviger (Meigen, 1804)
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Anopheles claviger is a mosquito species found in Palearctic ecozone covering Europe, North Africa, northern Arabian Peninsula, and northern Asia. It is responsible for transmitting malaria in some countries.[1] The mosquito is made up of a species complex consisting of An. claviger senu stricto and An. petraganii Del Vechhio. An. petraganii is found only in western Mediterranean region.
It was known for breeding abundantly in the Åland Islands of Finland. As a result, malaria was endemic in the islands for at least 150 years, with severe malaria outbreaks being recorded in the 17th century, and in 1853 and 1862.[2]
Scientific name
Anopheles claviger was first described by Johann Wilhelm Meigen in 1804. However due to its close resemblance with other anopheline mosquitoes, the systematics was variously changed. Originally Meigen named it Culex claviger which he changed it to An. bifurcutus in 1818. This was for a long period the accepted binomial but soon they realised that Carolus Linnaeus had already used the name for the males of Culex pipiens.[1] After a decade James Francis Stephens renamed it An. grisescens in 1828. A number of scientific names was introduced after they were discovered from one region after another. Some recognised synonyms are:[3]
- An. amaurus Martini
- An. grisescens Stephens
- An. habibi Mulligan and Puri
- An. missiroli Del Vecchio
- An. pollutus Canamares
- An. turkestani Shingarev
- An. villosus Robineau-Desvoidy
Distribution
Anopheles claviger is found throughout Palearctic ecozone including Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Serbia and Montenegro,[3] extending to Middle East, China and Siberia.[4] Member of the species complex An. petraganii is found only in western Mediterranean and absent from Turkey and beyond.
Biology
An. claviger adults are most abundant in May and September during which maximum biting on humans takes place. The larval forms aremost abundant during cold season from October to the next April. Mature larvae developed in the eggs 5 to 7 days after oviposition. Most eggs hatch within the next three days, but some may take up to one month. Females of the second generation (September) generally lay fewer eggs than those of the first generation (May). Egg maturation requires blood meal and about six days are required for blood digestion.[5] Females attack human soon after they mate with males. They bite during broad daylight.[6]
References
- ^ a b Kaiser, Norbert Becker, Dusan Petric, Marija Zgomba, Clive Boase, Minoo Madon, Christine Dahl, Achim (2010). Mosquitoes and Their Control (2nd ed.). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 166–168. ISBN 978-3-540-92874-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Prothero, G.W. (1920). The Åland Islands. Great Britain. Foreign Office. Historical Section. p. 3.
- ^ a b "Anopheles claviger". he Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ "Anopheles claviger (Meigen 1804)". eutaxa. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ Service, M. W. (2009). "The biology of Anopheles claviger (Mg.) (Dipt., Culicidae) in southern England". Bulletin of Entomological Research. 63 (02): 347. doi:10.1017/S0007485300039110.
- ^ Gramiccia, G (1956). "Anopheles claviger in the Middle East". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 15 (3–5): 816–21. PMC 2538294. PMID 13404456.