Similar feeding preferences of Anopheles gambiae and A. arabiensis in Senegal

This study in Senegal compared the feeding preferences of Anopheles gambiae and A. arabiensis while controlling for equal accessibility to hosts located outdoors under bed net traps. All fed A. gambiae complex females were identified with the aid of the polymerase chain reaction and their blood meal sources were identified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A total of 605 anophelines, including 281 A. gambiae and 301 A. arabiensis, were captured, 32.2% in the human-baited traps and 67.8% in bovine-baited traps. 30.3% of A. gambiae fed in the former and 69.7% fed in the latter; the corresponding figures for A. arabiensis were 29.6% and 70.4%. Thus, when the hosts were located outdoors and made equally available, the feeding preferences of A. gambiae and A. arabiensis were similar (P = 0.81). These results suggest that biases existed in previous studies, most of which suggested that A. arabiensis was more zoophilic than A. gambiae. Alternatively, the feeding behaviour of these 2 species may differ in various parts of Africa.