The disappearance of Anopheles labranchiae from Spain
Blazquez, J.; De Zulueta, J.
Parassitologia 22(1-2): 161-163
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0048-2951 PMID: 7312398 Document Number: 156849
Recent entomological investigations on mosquito vectors of malaria in Spain showed that Anopheles labranchiae Flni. had disappeared from its former rather limited distribution area in the south-east of that country. A. atroparvus Van Thiel also was absent from places where it had formerly been found in association with A. labranchiae, although it was still present in most of the other parts of Spain and Portugal where it was known, and it appears to be better adapted to the conditions of the Iberian Peninsula than was A. labranchiae, a species more typical of northern Africa. The disappearance of A. labranchiae from Spain is attributed to the combined effect of changed ecological conditions and agricultural practices (notably those caused by improved drainage and the discontinuation of rice cultivation) and the widespread use of residual insecticides both against malarial mosquitoes and against agricultural insect pests.