Abstract

The African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, depends on availability of suitable surface water for oviposition. The scarcity of breeding sites that characterizes droughts force gravid mosquitoes to delay oviposition and retain eggs in their ovaries. In laboratory conditions, we explored the possible consequences of preset duration of oviposition delay on reproductive capacity, egg viability, emergence and ovipositional behavior in gravid females of A. gambiae waiting for eggs laying in a context of oviposition delay. Overall, the mean anopheles egg batch size was not affected by the duration of the oviposition site deprivation. The embryo rates, hatchability and emergence rates decreased significantly gradually as the retention time is extended. However, the oviposition site deprivation has not been identified as a factor that can change the behavior of Anopheles in their choice of oviposition site.

Key words: Anopheles gambiae, oviposition delay, egg, ovaries, gravid females.