Journal of Medical Entomology (1998) 35, 681-684

William G. Brogdon (1998)
Measurement of flight tone differentiates among members of the Anopheles gambiae species complex (Diptera : Culicidae)
Journal of Medical Entomology 35 (5), 681-684
Abstract: Through digital sampling and resampling at 5,000 and 20,000 Hz of amplified mosquito flight sound, baseline separation was observed for flight tone frequency distributions of male and female Anopheles gambiae Giles, An. arabiensis Patton, An. merus Donitz, and An. melas Theobald. Males of the 4 species showed flight tones considerably higher than females. Up to 7 harmonics were measured for each species. Close correspondence for each individual mosquito of the means of the flight tone harmonics (corrected for harmonic number) demonstrated the accuracy and precision of the method. These data indicate that flight tone differences have been subjected to selection and may act as an isolating mechanism for mating or serve some other behavioral purpose in these mosquitoes. Individuals and swarms of sympatric species were distinguished from each other for both males and females, but the allopatric species, An. merus and An. melas, were indistinguishable.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Anopheles gambiae
	Anopheles arabiensis
	Anopheles merus
	Anopheles melas