Anophelines of Siliguri-Naxalbari block, Darjeeling, West Bengal

A systematic survey has been carried out during 1993-94 to study the occurrence and distribution of anopheline mosquitoes in Siliguri-Naxalbari block of Darjeeling district. The anopheline fauna of this region consists of 13 species, namely, An. vagus, An. culicifacies, An. annularis, An. barbirostris, An. subpictus, An. maculatus, An. tessellatus, An. jamesii, An. aconitus, An. "hyrcanus" group, An. karwari, An. fluviatilis and An. jeyporiensis among which the first five species forms the major bulk (92%). All the species showed preference to cattlesheds than human-habitation for resting. The ratio between morning and evening collection was 1:0.87.