Behavioural variation in the South American malaria vector
Anopheles darlingi is described. At the centre of its
distribution, in forest areas close to the city of Manaus,
Brazil, it is primarily exophagic and exophilic. Mosquitoes
from this area are chromosomally diverse. Towards the northern
edge of its distribution (in Guyana and Venezuela) it is more
endophagic and less diverse chromosomally. Similarly in the
south (in the state of Minas Gerais) it is less polymorphic.
In this area, however, it is primarily zoophilic and
exophagic. Evidence is presented that female wing size may
vary between populations. The possibility that this widely
distributed species may be a complex could have important
implications for future malaria control schemes.
