Observations on the swarming and mating behaviour of Anopheles culicifacies Giles in nature*

The mating and swarming behaviour of A. culicifacies Giles was investigated during December 1975 at a cattle shed near the village of Sattoki, Lahore District, Punjab, Pakistan. On average, swarming commenced 20.9 min before sunset (light intensity 1414.4 lx) and ended 21.0 min after sunset (5.4 lx) with pairing restricted to the period from 6.1 min before (467.2 lx) to 15.8 min after sunset (26.9 lx). The swarms were principally composed of males, with females entering only for mating. On average, copulation lasted 27.2 s and was completed in flight. Most females (71.8%) collected while mating had taken a partial blood meal either the previous evening or on the same evening as mating. All females in the swarms were nulliparous and 82.6% had ovaries developed to at least Christophers' stage IIa.