Intradomicillary pre- and postfeeding behavior of Anopheles pseudopunctipennis of southern Mexico: implications for malaria control.

The intradomicillary pre- and postfeed resting behavior of Anopheles pseudopunctipennis was studied in an experimental house in southern Mexico. During resting periods (both pre-/postfeed) mosquitos had greater contact (landings) with the inner roof than with the walls and other surfaces. A comparison of mean landing frequency and overall resting time (pre-/postfeed) showed that a greater periodic and prolonged contact occurred prefeed, probably as a result of disturbed activity associated with host movements. Pre-/postfeed resting patterns on walls were limited to a 0.6-0.5-m-wide band, nearly 1 m from the floor, and to a narrower band on the roof, 0.3-0.2 m wide, approximately 2.3 m from the floor, respectively. We calculated that with a band width of 0.8 m on the walls and another band 0.8 m wide on the roof, 87.2% of the mosquitoes had at least one contact with either the wall, the roof, or with both surfaces, along with an overall mean resting time (pre-/postfeed) of 8.1 min/landing. These findings suggest that a high potential for control can be achieved by spraying preferred wall and roof resting sites in this region where the intradomicillary application of residual insecticide is the primary malaria control measure.