Indoor resting anophelines of north Bengal

A systematic survey was carried out between April 1993 and March 1994 to study the distribution and prevalence of anopheline mosquito species in two malaria-prone areas situated in the foothills of Darjeeling district. Ten different species of Anopheles viz. An. aconitus, An. annularis, An. barbirostris, An. culicifacies, An. fluviatilis, An. hyrcanus group, An. maculatus, An. subpictus, An. vagus and An. varuna were collected. Per man hour density of mosquitoes collected was 4.5 and the most prevalent species was An. vagus, comprising 63% of the total catch. An. fluviatilis, an efficient vector of malaria in the foothill regions of India, was reported for the first time from this area. However, the classical vector of this region viz. An. minimus was altogether absent during the course of the present survey. All the ten species were found in cowsheds while, human habitation harboured higher population density (56.5%) of the total catch.