The practical problem of identifying members of the Anopheles gambiae complex in autecological studies
Green, C.A.
Parassitologia 13(3): 421-427
1971
ISSN/ISBN: 0048-2951 PMID: 5155712 Document Number: 41373
A critical assessment is made of the effectiveness of known morphological characters for identifying freshwater species of the complex of Anopheles gambiae Giles. The characters studied are the diameter of the female spermatheca and the branch number of the inner shoulder hair of fourth-instar larvae [cf. 53, p. 118]. It is concluded that in areas in which species A or B occurs together with species C, the methods are not useful. If only A and B are present, or where they occur together with a salt-water species, morphological methods of identification may be of use. However, it is emphasised that the methods must be evaluated in the field and not with laboratory colonies, which may not be representative of natural populations.