The subfamily Anophelinae contains three genera, but as explained in Chapter 1 only the genus Anopheles is of medical importance. Anopheles mosquitoes have a worldwide distribution, occurring in both tropical and temperate regions. There are about 484 species. The most important disease carried by Anopheles mosquitoes is malaria. Some Anopheles species are also vectors of filariasis, especially that caused by Wuchereria bancrofti, but some also transmit Brugia malayi and Brugia timori. A few species transmit arboviruses that are of minor medical importance.

External morphology

The main features distinguishing adults of the Anophelinae from other mosquitoes have been given in Chapter 1, but are briefly summarized here.

Eggs are laid singly and have air-filled floats (Fig. 1.8) that help them float on the water surface.

Larvae do not have a siphon and consequently lie parallel to the water surface (Fig. 1.13). Dorsally a tergal plate and paired palmate hairs are present on most abdominal segments (Fig. 1.9).

Pupal abdominal segments have numerous short setae, and segments 2–7 or 3–7 have in addition short peg-like spines (Fig. 1.11) which are absent in culicines.

Most, but not all, Anopheles have spotted wings, that is the dark and pale scales are arranged in small blocks or areas on the veins (Fig. 1.12, Plate 1). The number, length and arrangement of these dark and pale areas differ considerably in different species and provide useful characters for species identification.