Anopheles darlingi is an important malaria vector with a wide geographic distribution in South and Central America, stretching from South Mexico to North Argentina, and from the East of the Andes chain to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean[1]. This species depends on forested regions for their larval and adult survival, and seasonality patterns of An. darlingi are closely related to the annual cycle of rainfall due to this species' sensitivity to dry season conditions. Low densities are reported in the dry season, and increase a few months after the beginning of the rainy season, reaching their highest levels at the peak of this season[2].
Anopheles darlingi is the major vector of malaria in Brazil, which results both from it being highly susceptible to the Plasmodium species that infect humans and its highly anthropophilic behaviour. However, this species is also know to feed on avian hosts as well as dogs, pigs, goats and rats[3].
- Hiwat H, Bretas G. Ecology of Anopheles darlingi Root with respect to vector importance: a review. Parasites & vectors. 2011 Dec;4(1):177.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3183005/ - Moutinho PR, Gil LH, Cruz RB, Ribolla PE. Population dynamics, structure and behavior of Anopheles darlingi in a rural settlement in the Amazon rainforest of Acre, Brazil. Malaria journal. 2011 Dec;10(1):174.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3146439/ - Moreno M, Saavedra MP, Bickersmith SA, Prussing C, Michalski A, Rios CT, Vinetz JM, Conn JE. Intensive trapping of blood-fed Anopheles darlingi in Amazonian Peru reveals unexpectedly high proportions of avian blood-meals. PLoS neglected tropical diseases. 2017 Feb 23;11(2):e0005337.
https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0005337