Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say, 1824
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Anopheles quadrimaculatus is able to communicate through very distinct but low energy sounds. Females produce sounds with higher energy than males; however both sexes appear to have similar sounds for mating, alerting of danger, or anger. Many males will respond to the mating call of a single female with the sounds being picked up by their antennae. These sounds are made in a variety of ways including beating of the wings and rubbing the tarsi against the wings. As in other mosquito species, A. quadrimaculatus finds hosts through olfactory receptors and are attracted by carbon dioxide and ammonia as well as other odors. Maxillary palps are able to detect carbon dioxide while antennae are able to detect host odors. Anopheles quadrimaculatus may be particularly sensitive to carbon dioxide as it often bites humans on their heads. It is believed that each species uses specific odors to locate their hosts, however little information exists on this topic. Studies have also shown that these mosquitoes are also attracted by the heat and moisture of their hosts.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; infrared/heat ; acoustic ; chemical
- Dekker, T., W. Takken, B. Knols, E. Bouman, S. Laak, A. Bever, P. Huisman. 1998. Selection of biting sites on a human host by Anopheles gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis and An. quadriannulatus. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 87: 295-300.
- Enserink, M. 2002. What Mosquitoes Want: Secrets of Host Attraction. Science, Vol. 298, No. 5591: 90-92. Accessed February 25, 2010 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3832706.
- Kahn, M., W. Celestin, W. Offenhauser. 1945. Recording of Sounds Produced by Certain Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes. Science, Vol. 101, No. 2622: 335-336. Accessed February 24, 2010 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1672457.
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Anopheles quadrimaculatus goes through four stages in its life cycle, progressing through egg, larva and pupa stages to the adult form. Egg, larval and pupal stages all occur in aquatic environments. Developmental times in each stage can vary dramatically depending on the temperatures experienced. Eggs normally hatch within one to three days following oviposition with a mean time of two days; however hatching time can be longer with colder temperatures. Anopheles quadrimaculatus has four larval instars lasting a minimum of twelve days following oviposition with an average of nineteen days under normal conditions. Metamorphosis from larva to adult occurs during the pupal stage, which can last anywhere from two to six days in total with an average of two days, after which fully developed adults emerge. The total life cycle from egg to adult takes a minimum of fourteen days and a maximum of twenty-seven days with a mean of twenty-one days when water temperatures are 74° F.
Development - Life Cycle: metamorphosis
- 2008. "Anopheles Mosquitoes" (On-line). Accessed February 24, 2010 at http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/biology/mosquitoes/.
- Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Common malaria Mosquito Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say. EENY-419. University of Florida: Leslie M. Rios and C. Roxanne Connelly. 2009. Accessed February 10, 2010 at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/IN/IN79100.pdf.
- Keener, G. 1945. Detailed Observations on the Life History of Anopheles Quadrimaculatus. The Journal of the National Malaria Society, Volume 4, Issue 3: 263-270.
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Females of Anopheles quadrimaculatus typically live much longer than males, averaging about 21 days as compared to about 7 days for males. The maximum lifespan observed of a female is 62 days while the maximum male lifespan is significantly shorter at 22 days. Females that overwinter die immediately following oviposition in the spring. There are many different measurements for the lifespan of these mosquitoes; however they vary significantly depending on conditions and sex. Factors that affect lifespan include temperature and humidity as well as host abundance and the presence of predators.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 22 (male) to 62 (female) days.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 7 (males); 21 (females) days.
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Members of Anopheles quadrimaculatus are polygynandrous as both males and females have more than one mate throughout the breeding season.
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Mating occurs near aquatic environments, especially near ponds with vegetation. Female A. quadrimaculatus are sexually mature and able to mate as soon as they emerge from the pupal stage. Sexually mature males typically stay in vegetation and wait for females to emerge from the pupa. As females leave the pupa, males locate them and mating occurs in flight for about ten to fifteen seconds. After mating, females require a blood meal for eggs to become completely mature. The first brood of eggs is normally laid in April or May after blood feeding begins and proper temperature for egg development is reached. Breeding may occur through November, depending on temperatures throughout the breeding season. Eggs are laid on the surface of water in ponds and other aquatic environments and are specially designed to float with a certain orientation on the water’s surface. Females typically oviposit within two to three days after taking a blood meal. Laboratory observations indicated that female A. quadrimaculatus are able to lay nine to twelve broods of eggs during their lifetime, each consisting of 194 to 263 eggs. Once oviposition occurs females are able to breed again immediately, continuing this cycle until the end of their lives.
Breeding interval: Common malaria mosquitoes breed 9 to 12 times per year depending on geographic location and climatic conditions.
Breeding season: The breeding season for common malaria mosquitoes occurs from early spring to late fall primarily depending on temperatures.
Range eggs per season: 1100 to 3100.
Range gestation period: 2 to 3 days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): Immediately after emerging from the pupal stage (low) minutes.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): Immediately after emerging from the pupal stage (low) minutes.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous
After mating and oviposition, Anopheles quadrimaculatus has no additional parental investment in its young.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement
- 2008. "Anopheles Mosquitoes" (On-line). Accessed February 24, 2010 at http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/biology/mosquitoes/.
- Boyd, M. 1949. Malariology: a Comprehensive Survey of All Aspects of This Group of Disease From a Global Standpoint. Philadelphia: Saunders. Accessed February 17, 2010 at http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015019376519.
- Horsfall, W. 1972. Mosquitoes Their Bionomics and Relation to Disease. New York: Hafner Publishing Company.
- Keener, G. 1945. Detailed Observations on the Life History of Anopheles Quadrimaculatus. The Journal of the National Malaria Society, Volume 4, Issue 3: 263-270.
- La Casse, W., S. Carpenter. 1955. Mosquitoes of North America (North of Mexico). Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
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| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
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The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
There are 12 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.
Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 12
Specimens with Barcodes: 94
Species With Barcodes: 1
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
There is 1 barcode sequence available from BOLD and GenBank.
Below is the sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen.
Other sequences that do not yet meet barcode criteria may also be available.
-- end --
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 2
Specimens with Barcodes: 2
Species With Barcodes: 1
Anopheles quadrimaculatus, the common malaria mosquito, is a large dark mosquito, recently discovered through genetic testing to be a complex of five sibling species, so is often referred to as "A. quadrimaculatus sensu lato". It is native to eastern North America with a range from southern Canada to Florida, west to Minnesota and also to parts of Mexico. Most active in summer months and in warm climates, this species can have up to 10 generations in a year, and overwinters in its adult phase. Its preferred hosts are humans and other large mammals; females will repeatedly bite a host for blood (males eat only nectar). Adult Anopheles quadrimaculatus frequent houses and other man-made shelters and have a less painful, and thus less noticeable, bite than other mosquito species. Because it prefers clean water for breeding, A. quadrimaculatus does well in rural swamps and wetlands and produces more adults in these habitats than in smaller containers and ditches associated with humans.
This mosquito had the distinction of being the most common vector of malaria in North America until the eradication of this disease from this part of the world in 1950. Anopheles quadrimaculatus is still identified in vectoring occasional cases of local transmission of malaria in the eastern United States, as well transmitting other disease pathogens such as Cache Valley virus, West Nile Virus and St. Louis encephalitis. It is a common and important host for dog heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) and can be a vector for the myositic parasite Trachipleistophora hominis. In addition to being a disease vector, A. quadrimaculatus is also a significant pest species in its own right. Anopheles quadrimaculatus populations can be monitored using resting box collections and carbon dioxide traps.
(CABI 2009; Reinert and Seawright 1997; Rios and Connelly 2007; Wikipedia 2011)
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| Rights holder/Author | Dana Campbell, Dana Campbell |
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Anopheles quadrimaculatus populations are large throughout its wide geographical range and do not appear to be in danger of declining in the future. Any efforts to control population numbers are focused solely on reducing their numbers as they are primary vectors of disease.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
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| Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
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