Occurrence and host preferences of Anopheles maculipennis group mosquitoes in E ngland and W ales

• Published in: Medical and veterinary entomology Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 169 - 178
• Main Authors: DANABALAN, R., MONAGHAN, M. T., PONSONBY, D. J., LINTON, Y.‐M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-06-2014
• ISSN: 0269-283X; 1365-2915
• DOI: 10.1111/mve.12023

Mosquitoes of the
Anopheles maculipennis
M
eigen (
D
iptera:
C
ulicidae) group are of public health concern: five of the 11 morphologically indistinct species have been historically considered as vectors of malaria in
E
urope. Three members of the
An. maculipennis
group have been reported in the
U
.
K
.:
Anopheles atroparvus
van
T
hiel;
Anopheles messeae
F
alleroni, and
Anopheles daciae
L
inton,
N
icolescu &
H
arbach. To study the distribution of the three
U.K
. species, particularly that of
An. daciae
, we developed a polymerase chain reaction–Restriction fragment length polymorphism (
PCR‐RFLP
) assay using the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (
ITS‐2
) gene.
Anopheles daciae
was found to be widespread, occurring in four of the five counties surveyed in southern
E
ngland and on the
W
elsh island of
A
nglesey, often in sympatry with the closely related species
An. messeae
. The host preferences of 237 blood‐fed females were determined using either direct sequencing or
PCR
‐based fragment analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase b gene with
DNA
from females' abdomens. All three species were found to be opportunistic, having fed on at least three different hosts. Seventeen individuals contained multiple bloodmeals, including two
An. daciae
that had fed on humans and birds. Our results show that
An. daciae
is widespread in
E
ngland and
W
ales, occurs in sympatry with other members of the
An. maculipennis
group, and feeds on humans, which suggests it is a potential vector of disease in the
U.K
.