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Scanning electron microscopy of eggs and adult body parts of Anopheles subpictus (Grassi, 1899) mosquitoes from rural areas of Hooghly, West Bengal, India

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Abstract

Anopheles subpictus (Grassi, 1899) is a potent malarial vector responsible for transmission of malarial pathogens in different regions of the world. The present study was conducted to investigate different characteristic features of eggs and adult body parts of An. subpictus mosquito prevalent in Hooghly, West Bengal, India. The adult mosquitoes were collected from rural areas of Hooghly and maintained in the laboratory. Eggs and adult body parts of An. subpictus were prepared for the SEM study and observed through a scanning electron microscope. The eggs of An. subpictus were found to be single, black in color with average length and width of 499.68 ± 11.33 µm and 96.23 ± 3.0 µm, respectively. Most of the adult body parts were found to be covered with fine setae and scales of unique characteristic features. Several morphological characters of An. subpictus mosquito of Hooghly showed marked differences when compared with the same species of other geographical regions. These morphological features of different life stages of An. subpictus mosquito revealed through scanning electron microscopy will surely illuminate the current knowledge about the vector identification of the study areas, which might contribute to vector management programmes in the Hooghly district.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Department of Zoology, University of Burdwan and the DST PURSE for providing laboratory facilities to carry out this work. The authors are also thankful to Devi Shankar Suman, Viswa Venkat Gantait and the Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata for their assistance in mosquito identification. The authors are also thankful to University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, India and WBDSTBT for their financial support.

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  1. Parasitology and Microbiology Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, The University of Burdwan, Burdwan, West Bengal, India

    Madhurima Seal & Soumendranath Chatterjee

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  1. Madhurima Seal
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  2. Soumendranath Chatterjee
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MS collected mosquito samples from the field and carried out all laboratory studies. SC planned the study, supervised the work, and revised the manuscript. Both the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Soumendranath Chatterjee.

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Seal, M., Chatterjee, S. Scanning electron microscopy of eggs and adult body parts of Anopheles subpictus (Grassi, 1899) mosquitoes from rural areas of Hooghly, West Bengal, India. Zoomorphology 141, 263–271 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-022-00572-6

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