[Studies on the Simulium damnosum complex in West Africa - V. Morphological identification of the females in Ivory Coast (author's transl)].

The morphological identification of adult females of the Simulium damnosum complex is essential for studies on the ecology and vector potential of the species concerned. Detailed morphological studies of adult females obtained at breeding sites, where larvae had been identified cytotaxonomically, allowed the establishment of an identification key. This key, based on morphological characters of the antennae and maxillae, is dealing with the six species of the complex known to occur in the Ivory Coast. It has been used, with success, during ecological and epidemiological studies in the field.