Choice of resting sites by Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culici) in Mwea Rice Irrigation Scheme, Kirinyaga District,...

Investigations on Anopheles gambiae were carried out in Mwea Rice Irrigation Scheme, Kenya, to determine their preference for resting on various colours of fabrics and bare walls inside rural houses. The inside wall surface of each house was divided into upper, middle and lower sections and the section further partitioned into subsections measuring 0.6 x 0.3m. Two sets of experiments were conducted: one in which the walls were partly fitted with one colour of fabric at a time (double-choice situation), while in the other the walls were fitted with a combination of six colours (red, black, yellow, white, green and blue) of fabric at once, (multiple-choice situation). The number of mosquitoes resting on each of the pieces of cloth pinned to the walls and the uncovered subsections of the wall were recorded for each section of the wall after 24 hours. The results showed resting preference for cloth covered parts of the walls. The white colour was found to best attract mosquitoes followed by colours red, yellow, black, blue and green. The hanging strips in the middle of the houses had fewer mosquitoes resting on them than those on the wall.