Dry Season Composition and Abundance of the Anopheles, Culex and Aedes Genera in Makrudi Benue State

Abstract

Mosquitoes are very important vectors of malaria, yellow fever, dengue and other diseases. Their unmitigated availability is key to the spread of parasites spread by their bites. This research was designed to find out the abundance of mosquitoes of the Anopheles, Culex and Aedes Genera in Makurdi Local Government of Benue state. Larva was collected from different water bodies in three (3) different locations that cover Makurdi representatively with the aid of a scoop spoon. Collected larva was stored in transparent plastic plates and transported to the insectarium, filtered into cleaner water by decantation, fed with baker’s yeast and grown into adult Mosquitoes in premade 16x16x16 inches cages. Adults were fed with sugar solution in cotton balls. Dead mosquitoes were stored in vials containing 70% ethanol.  Using the Photographic Guide to common mosquitoes of Florida, Mosquitoes were identified by microscopy. 537 Mosquitoes were identified of different Genera. Aedesgenera recorded the highest abundance of 34.64%, while Anophelesgenera has the least abundance with 31.10%. Culexgenera recorded an abundance of 34.26% in makurdi. NorthBank with 40.78%, recorded the highest number of mosquitoes of the three Genera under consideration. Logo II/Kanshio follows with 32.22% and Karmen, 27.00%, showed the least abundance. Based on this research, Mosquitoes showed relatively high abundance in Makurdi in the dry and windy harmattan season. This could be one reason malaria persists even in the dry seasons in makurdi.