Well, I would like to welcome everybody to this lecture on Malaria Vectors. Malaria is transmitted by female mosquitoes of the family Culicidae, with about 3,300 species. The genus Anopheles consists of about 400 known species of which 17% are capable of transmitting the malaria parasite, Plasmodium species. Let's look at distribution of these vectors. Malaria vectors are widely distributed, with different species occupying different regions. For example, Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus are found in Afrotropical region, while Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles culicifacies are found in Indian sub-continent. Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Anopheles albimanus, and Anopheles marjora are found in Northern and Southern America. Anopheles mosquitoes rest on upright surface at an angle of about 45 degrees, and their legs are sparkled. Like all other dipterans, Anopheles mosquitoes undergo complete metamorphosis with four distinct stages that takes for about one to two weeks. Here we have larval stage one and two, while here we have larval stage three and four of the Anopheles species. Anopheles females require blood meal to facilitate egg development and it takes about four days to complete the gonotrophic cycle. The time from which the Anopheles mosquitoes take a blood meal, to the time when their abdomen are full of eggs. Anopheles eggs are usually laid in fresh, unpolluted water, but there are spacious preferences. For example, Anopheles gambiae lay their eggs in small and temporary habitats, preferably with turbid water exposed to sunlight. While Anopheles funestus prefer permanent or semi-permanent shaded habitats including rice paddies, and its swamps. As far as their habits are concerned, the habits of Anopheles mosquitoes are quite variable, depending on species. They are usually nocturnal in habits with major activities occurring during emergence, mating, feeding, oviposition, and they normally occur at sunset, during the night, and the during sunrise. Feeding preferences of Anopheles mosquitoes in include anthropophilic behavior and zoophilic behavior. Anthropophilic mosquitoes prefer to feed on human beings, while zoophilic Anopheles mosquitoes prefer to feed on animals, especially cattle. As far as their resting preference is concerned, Anopheles mosquitoes are either endophilic or exophilic. Endophilic mosquitoes prefer to rest indoors after taking their blood meal, while exophilic mosquitoes prefer to rest outdoors after taking their blood meal. Thank you for listening.