ABSTRACT

The species composition of mosquitoes resting indoors in Edo state were investigated taking six (6) local government areas as sample sites namely, Ikpoba-okha, Orhiomnwon, Oredo, Uhunmwonde, Owan-west and Etsako east. Mosquito were caught twice a month for 3 months April to June, 2017 by the application of pyrethrum spray (TOTAL Insecticide) in rooms where human occupants had slept the previous night. The total mosquito caught were identified morphologically through the use of microscope. In total, 60 mosquitoes were collected and the following species were recorded: Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles funestus and Culex quinquefasciatus of whichthe most abundant specie recorded was the An. gambiae (48.86%), then the Cx.quinquefasciatus (25.00%) and the least recorded specie was the An.funestus (23.35%). Two (2) of the collected species were noted to having no legs and as such could not be identified. The male mosquitos were identified, recorded and discarded while the females were kept for further experiments. The blood feeding stages (Gonotrophic stage) of the female mosquitoes were examined under a stereomicroscope and classified as fed, unfed, half gravid and gravid. The mean human biting rate of all the sampling sites was 1.35 and the mean indoor resting density was 1.95. This study indicates that An. gambiae, An. funestus and Cx. quinquefasciatus all abound in the study area and while the abundance of the Anopheline specie and relatively high human biting rate explains the high rise of malaria in the area, the high indoor resting density indicates the abundance of endophilic (indoor resting) mosquitoes in the study area.