1.

General characters of
Arthropoda:

Arthropods, members of the phylum Arthropoda, are a diverse

group of animals including insects, crustaceans, spiders, scorpions
and centipedes. However, the members of this phylum, despite their
incredible diversity and sheer numbers, share a number of
important distinguishing characteristics.

 Exoskeleton

Arthropods are invertebrates, which means their bodies do not have

internal bones for support. To compensate for this, they produce a
hard exoskeleton made of chitin, a mixture of lipids, carbohydrates
and protein, which covers and protects their bodies like a suit of
armor. As arthropods grow, they must shed or molt their
exoskeletons. They first produce new, softer exoskeletons
underneath the old ones. Once their hardened, old coverings crack
and shed, they sport roomier, albeit soft, exoskeletons. Arthropods
are incredibly vulnerable during the molting process, and will often
hide until their new exoskeletons harden.
  Segmented Bodies

Arthropods have bodies that are internally and externally

segmented. The number of segments depends on the individual
species; millipedes, for example, have more segments than
lobsters.

 Jointed Appendages

The name arthropod actually comes from the Greek “arthro,”

meaning joint, and "pod," meaning foot. All arthropods have jointed
limbs attached to their hard exoskeletons that allow for flexibility and
movement. The joints generally bend in only one direction but allow
for sufficient predatory and defensive actions.

 Bilateral Symmetry

An arthropod's body can be divided vertically into two mirror images.

This is called bilateral symmetry. An arthropod shares this
symmetry with many other animals such as fish, mice and even
humans. Other animals such as the jellyfish and sea star exhibit
radial symmetry, while coral and sea sponge are asymmetrical --
exhibiting no pattern at all.
  Open Circulatory System

An arthropod has an open circulatory system. This means

instead of a closed circulatory system of interconnected veins
and capillaries, an arthropod's blood is pumped through open
spaces called sinuses in order to reach tissues. An arthropod
does, however, have a heart which pumps blood into the
hemocoel, the cavity where the organs are located, where it
surrounds the organs and tissues.
 2. General characters of
Insects:
Insect, (class Insecta or Hexapoda), any member of the largest
class of the phylum Arthropoda, which is itself the largest of the
animal phyla. Insects have segmented bodies, jointed legs,
and external skeletons (exoskeletons). Insects are
distinguished from other arthropods by their body, which is
divided into three major regions: (1) the head, which bears the
mouthparts, eyes, and a pair of antennae, (2) the three-
segmented thorax, which usually has three pairs of legs (hence
“Hexapoda”) in adults and usually one or two pairs of wings,
and (3) the many-segmented abdomen, which contains the
digestive, excretory, and reproductive organs.

 Insect diversity
 In a popular sense, “insect” usually refers to familiar pests
or disease carriers, such as bedbugs, houseflies, clothes
moths, Japanese beetles, aphids, mosquitoes, fleas,
horseflies, and hornets, or to conspicuous groups, such
as butterflies, moths, and beetles. Many insects, however,
are beneficial from a human viewpoint; they pollinate
plants, produce useful substances, control pest insects,
act as scavengers, and serve as food for other animals
(see below Importance). Furthermore, insects are
valuable objects of study in elucidating many aspects of
biology and ecology. Much of the scientific knowledge of
genetics has been gained from fruit fly experiments and of
population biology from flour beetle studies. Insects are
often used in investigations of hormonal action, nerve and
sense organ function, and many other physiological
processes. Insects are also used as environmental quality
indicators to assess water quality and soil contamination
and are the basis of many studies of biodiversity.

 General features :

1) Appearance and habits

The majority of insects are small, usually less than 6 mm (0.2
inch) long, although the range in size is wide. Some of the
feather-winged beetles and parasitic wasps are almost
microscopic, while some tropical forms such as the hercules
beetles, African goliath beetles, certain Australian stick insects,
and the wingspan of the hercules moth can be as large as 27
cm

In many species the difference in body structure between the

sexes is pronounced, and knowledge of one sex may give few
clues to the appearance of the other sex. In some, such as the
twisted-wing insects (Strepsiptera), the female is a mere
inactive bag of eggs, and the winged male is one of the most
active insects known. Modes of reproduction are quite diverse,
and reproductive capacity is generally high. Some insects,
such as the mayflies, feed only in the immature or larval stage
and go without food during an extremely short adult life. Among
social insects, queen termites may live for up to 50 years,
whereas some adult mayflies live less than two hours, to the
other sex by flashing lights, and many imitate other insects in
colour and form and thus avoid or minimize attack by predators
that feed by day and find their prey visually, as do birds, lizards,
and other insects.

Behaviour is diverse, from the almost inert parasitic forms,

whose larvae lie in the nutrient bloodstreams of their hosts and
feed by absorption, to dragonflies that pursue victims in the air,
tiger beetles that outrun prey on land, and predaceous water
beetles that outswim prey in water.

In some cases the adult insects make elaborate preparations

for the young, in others the mother alone defends or feeds her
young, and in still others the young are supported by complex
insect societies. Some colonies of social insects, such as
tropical termites and ants, may reach populations of millions of
inhabitants.

2) Distribution and abundance

Scientists familiar with insects realize the difficulty in
attempting to estimate individual numbers of insects beyond
areas of a few acres or a few square miles in extent. Figures
soon become so large as to be incomprehensible. The large
populations and great variety of insects are related to their
small size, high rates of reproduction, and abundance of
suitable food supplies. Insects abound in the tropics, both in
numbers of different kinds and in numbers of insect.
If the insects (including the young and adults of all
forms) are counted on a square yard (0.84 square
metre) of rich moist surface soil, 500 are found easily
and 2,000 are not unusual in soil samples in the north
temperate zone. This amounts to roughly 4 million
insects on one moist acre (0.41 hectare). In such an
 area only an occasional butterfly, bumblebee, or large
beetle, supergiants among insects, probably would be
noticed. Only a few thousand species, those that
attack people’s crops, herds, and products and those
that carry disease, interfere with human life seriously
enough to require control measures.
Insects are adapted to every land and freshwater
habitat where food is available, from deserts to
jungles, from glacial fields and cold mountain streams
to stagnant, lowland ponds and hot springs. Many live
in brackish water up to 1/10 the salinity of seawater, a
few live on the surface of seawater, and some fly
larvae can live in pools of crude petroleum, where they
eat other insects that fall in.

3) Role in nature :
Insects play many important roles in nature. They aid bacteria,
fungi, and other organisms in the decomposition of organic
matter and in soil formation. The decay of carrion, for example,
brought about mainly by bacteria, is accelerated by the
maggots of flesh flies and blowflies. The activities of these
larvae, which distribute and consume bacteria, are followed by
those of moths and beetles, which break down hair and
feathers. Insects and flowers have evolved together. Many
plants depend on insects for pollination. Some insects are
predators of others.
Certain insects provide sources of commercially important
products such as honey, silk, wax, dyes, or pigments, all of
which can be of direct benefit to humans. Because they feed
on many types of organic matter, insects can cause
considerable agricultural damage. Insect pests devour crops of
food or timber, either in the field or in storage, and convey
infective microorganisms to crops, farm animals, and humans.
The technology for combatting such pests constitutes the
applied sciences of agricultural and forest entomology, stored
product entomology, medical and veterinary entomology, and
urban entomology.

4) Insects as a source of raw materials

For primitive peoples who gathered food, insects were a
significant food source. Grasshopper plagues, termite swarms,
large palm weevil grubs, and other insects are still sources of
protein in some countries. The dry scaly excreta of coccids
(Homoptera) on tamarisk or larch trees is the source of manna
in the Sinai Desert. Coccids were once the source of the
crimson dye kermes. The cochineal, or carmine, from
Dactylopius scale insects found on Mexican cacti, was used for
dying cloth by the Aztecs and is used today as a dye in foods,
cosmetics, drugs, and textiles. Several insect waxes are used
commercially, especially beeswax and lac wax. The resinous
product of the lac insect Kerria lacca (Homoptera), which is
cultured for this purpose, is the source of commercial shellac.

Two of the most important domesticated insects are the

silkworm (Lepidoptera) and the honeybee (Hymenoptera).
Some coarse silks are produced from the cocoons of large wild
silkworm species. Most commercial silks, however, come from
the silkworm Bombyx mori. This insect is unknown in the wild
state and exists only in culture. It was domesticated in China
thousands of years ago, and selective breeding, notably in
China and Japan, has produced many specialized strains. The
honeybee is a close relative of existing wild bees. In the Middle
Ages, honey was Europe’s most important sweetener, and
both beeswax and honey are still articles of commerce.
However, the major importance of honeybees lies in their
pollination of fruit trees and other crops.

A moth of the genus Hemaris. part of the insets unclocked pro

When insects that break down dead trees invade structural

timbers in buildings, they become pests. This is true of insects
such as dermestid beetles and various tineid moths that
ecologically are latecomers to carcasses and are capable of
breaking down the keratin in hair and feathers. When these
insects invade skins, furs, and wool garments or carpets, they
can become problems for humans.

In many hot, dry climates, as in North Africa or the plains of

India, ripened grain in the fields is invaded by certain beetles
and moths. When the grain is harvested, these insects thrive in
the grain stores. They can be carried throughout the world in
commerce and have become universal pests of stored grain,
dried fruit, tobacco, and other products. Quarantine and
disinfestation methods are used to control importation of such
insects from grain-exporting county.

5) Agricultural importance :
Many insects are plant feeders, and, when the plants are of
agricultural importance, humans are often forced to compete
with these insects. Populations of insects are limited by such
factors as unfavourable weather, predators and parasites, and
viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases, as well as many other
factors that operate to make insect populations stable.
Agricultural methods that encourage the planting of ever larger
areas to single crops, which provides virtually unlimited food
resources, has removed some of these regulating factors and
allowed the rate of population growth of insects that attack
those crops to increase. This increases the probability of great
infestations of certain insect pests. Many natural forests, which
form similar giant monocultures, always seem to have been
subject to periodic outbreaks of destructive insects.
In some agricultural monocultures, nonnative insect pests have
been accidentally introduced along with a crop but without also
bringing along its full range of natural enemies. This has
occurred in the United States with the oystershell scale
(Lepidosaphes ulmi) of apple and other fruit trees, the cottony-
cushion scale (Icerya purchasi) of citrus, the European corn
borer (Pyrausta nubilalis; also called Ostrinia nubilalis), and
others. The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa
decemlineata), which caused appalling destruction to the
cultivated potato in the United States beginning about 1840,
was a native insect of semidesert country. The beetle, which
fed on the buffalo burr plant, adapted itself to a newly
introduced and abundant diet of potatoes and thus escaped
from all previous controlling factors. Similar situations often
have been controlled by determining the major predators or
parasites of an alien insect pest in its country of origin and
introducing them as control agents. A classic example is the
cottony-cushion scale, which threatened the California citrus
industry in 1886. A predatory ladybird beetle, the vedalia beetle
(Rodolia cardinalis), was introduced from Australia, and within
a year or two the scale insect had virtually disappeared. The
success was repeated in every country where the scale insect
had become established without its predators. In eastern
Canada in the early 1940s the European spruce sawfly
(Gilpinia hercyniae), which had caused immense damage, was
completely controlled by the spontaneous appearance of a viral
disease, perhaps unknowingly introduced from Europe. This
event led to increased interest in using insect diseases as
potential means of managing pest populations.

insect pests of farm crops, forests, and orchards

insect pests of farm crops, forests, and orchards
The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis), European corn borer
(Pyrausta nubilalis, or Ostrinia nubilalis), Hessian fly (Mayetiola
destructor), and spotted alfalfa aphid (Therioaphis maculata)
are important pests of farm crops.

3. Different types of Mouth

parts:
Insects have a range of mouthparts, adapted to particular
modes of feeding. The earliest insects had chewing
mouthparts. Specialization has mostly been for piercing and
sucking, although a range of specializations exist, as these
modes of feeding have evolved a number of times (for
example, mosquitoes and aphids (which are true bugs) both
pierce and suck, however female mosquitoes feed on animal
blood whereas aphids feed on plant fluids. In this page, the
individual mouthparts are introduced for chewing insects.
Specializations are generally described thereafter.

 Evolution
Like most external features of arthropods, the mouthparts of
hexapoda are highly derived. Insect mouthparts show a
multitude of different functional mechanisms across the wide
diversity of species considered insects. Certainly it is
common for significant homology to be conserved, with
matching structures formed from matching primordia, and
having the same evolutionary origin. On the other hand, even
structures that physically are almost identical, and share
almost identical functionality as well, may not be
homologous; their analogous functions and appearance
might be the product of convergent evolution.

 Types of mouthparts
Eight major types of mouthparts based on the feeding habit
of insects.
A. Chewing type (eg. Grasshopper, cockroach, beetles etc.)
B. Rasping sucking type (eg. Thrips)
C. Piercing sucking type (eg. Rice bug, bed bug, stink bug,
leaf hopper, female mosquito etc.)
D. Sponging type (eg. House fly )
E. Siphoning type (eg. Butterfly and moths)
F. Cutting sponging type (eg. Horse fly)
G. Chewing lapping type (eg. Honey bee)
H. Degenerate type (eg. Larvae of mosquito, fruit fly etc.)
A. CHEWING TYPE MOUTHPARTS

Insects like ground beetles and grasshoppers with chewing

mouthparts have heavy crania, adapted for muscles involved
in capturing prey and biting off leaf tissue. Chewing type
mouthparts consist of a labrum (upper lip), a pair of chewing
mandibles (upper jaws), a pair of maxillae (lower/second jaws),
and a labium (lower lip) [Figure 1]. These structures surround
the mouth and form the pre-oral cavity. In addition, a central
tongue-like hypopharynx drops from the membranous floor of
the cranium, behind the mouth, and bears the opening of the
salivary ducts. The interior, fleshy-surface of the labrum,
endowed with numerous sensory structures, is referred to as
the labrum-epipharynx (roof of the mouth).
 Labrum:
The labrum is a sclerite or plate that acts as the 'upper lip' in
insects. It is a flaplike structure that lies immediately in front of
the mouth. There is a notch at the middle of the labrum which
hold food material during cutting or grinding. Labrum pushes
food into the mouth cavity.
 Mandibles:
Mandibles are strongly chitinized structures and are commonly
known as the jaws. They always articulate in a transverse plate.
Mandibles are provided with strong adductor and abductor
muscles arisen from the dorsal and ventral walls of the
cranium.Teeth are blunt like molar in phytophagous insects,
slightly pointed like incisors in carnivorous insects. Teeth are
molar near the base and incisor as blade at the tip in
omnivorous insects for cutting and grinding the food material.
 Maxillae:
They are also known as second pair of jaws of the insect. Each
maxilla is composed of proximal cardo, middle stipes, lateral
palpifer, inner subgalea or parastipes and the distal sclerite
consisting two lobes, outer galea & inner lacinia. On the
outside, the palpifer bears the maxillary palp, which is sensory
appendages and composed of 1-7 segments. The maxillae
possess various types of cuticular processes, hairs and bristles
etc.Mandibles and maxillae are adapted for cutting and
grinding the solid food material.
 Labium:
It is formed from the fusion of paired 2nd maxillae pair. It closes
the preoral cavity and known as lower lip of insect. It is
composed of distal prementum, proximal postmentum,
separated by labial suture. Postmentum is divided into proximal
submentum and distal mentum. Palpiger: lateral lobe arises
from prementum bears 1-4 segmented labial palp, which is
sensory in function. Paraglosae: arise from distal margin of
prementum outward as lobe. Glossae: arise from distal margin
of prementum innerward as lobe.
  Hypopharynx:
In some Apterygota, it is considered as composite gnathal
appendages. At embryonic development, hypopharynx is
formed by a pair of lateral lobes (Superlinguae) fused with a
median lobe (Lingua) in Apterygota and some primitive
Pterygota. In higher Pterygota, it develops as a ventral median
lobe from the ventral wall of the labium. At the base it bears an
orifice of salivary duct. Various muscles serve to swing the
hypopharynx in forward and backward directions.
Epipharynx and hypopharynx are membranous lobulated
structures which push the food material into the pharynx.
B. RASPING SUCKING TYPE MOUTHPARTS

Rasping sucking mouthparts are commonly found in the Order

Thysanoptera (Figure 2). Head bears a short, thick conical
beak projected downward.
Externally, the beak is formed by labrum in front, maxillae on
sides and labium behind.Labrum is a triangular structure. The
maxillae are long and triangular structure bearing palpi distally.
Labium is wide with a pair of short palpi.
Within beak are enclosed (a) single elongated slender
mandibular stylet, (b) two maxillary stylets, (c) a short median
hypopharynx. The stylets are adapted to move in and out of
beak. All these parts form piercing apparatus. Maxillary stylets
are longer than the mandibular stylets. The lacinia fit together
to form the food channel.
These mouthparts are intermediate between chewing-biting
and piercing-sucking type. They are asymmetrical due to
absence of right mandible. They do not enter the wound
deeply. The sap exuded on the surface is sucked up by the
cone-shaped mouth rather than stylets. Food channel lies
between labrum and hypopharynx within the head and saliva
passes to the tip of stylets between the hypopharynx and
labium.
C. PIERCING SUCKING TYPE MOUTHPARTS
In these mouthparts, a tube or jointed beak encloses needle
like stylets. Labrum is short and covers the basal part of the
beak like a mall flap. Labium is elongated and formed a beak
which is dorsally grooved and 3-4 segmented, hold styles. It
lacks palpi and terminal lobes. Mandibles and Maxillae are
elongated, needle like and form long slender stylets. Maxillary
palpi are absent. Food Channel and salivary duct are formed
by closely apposed inner surface of Maxillae. Stylets are longer
than labium and coiled within head. Stylets may be variously
equipped. The hypopharynx is a median conical lobe projected
into the proximal part of the beak between the bases of the
stylets.
In female mosquito, there are 6 stylets – two mandibles, two
maxillae, one each hypopharynx and labrum epiphyrynx. Food
channel formed between labrum epiphyrynx and hypopharynx.
Salivery duct extends length of hypopharynx. Maxillary palpi
present but labial palpi absent. Labium unjointed except for
distal pair of lobes called labellum. Stylets are not retractile and
protractile, entire beak inserted during feeding.

D. SPONGING TYPE MOUTHPARTS

They are incapable of piercing skin and found in adult house
fly. The mandibles are wanting. Feeding apparatus is proboscis
which is a composite structure formed by labrum, hypopharynx
and labium. The proboscis is anteriorly associated with
maxillary palpi and distally bears a pair of labellar lobes called
labellum. Labella are broad, soft pads with teeth for rasping
food.
The proboscis has 3 parts:
(1) Basiproboscis or rostrum which bears maxillary palpi,
(2) Mediproboscis or haustellum which is cylindrical and its
anterior surface is covered by labrum,
(3) Distiproboscis fromed labellae or oral suckers which occur
as non-piercing spongy pads. It bears pseudotrachae. Food
channel lies between labrum and hypopharynx.
The maxillae are represented by maxillary palpi. The
hypopharynx conveys saliva into the wound which contains
anticoagulant.

E. CUTTING SPONGING TYPE MOUTHPARTS

They are found in female horse flies (Tabanidae) only. Total

number of stylets is six similar to that of mosquitoes. Stylets are
flattened blade like. Labium is similar to the sponging type
terminating into a pair of large lobes, the labellae. Mandibles
are well-developed, forming sharp blades. Maxillae are long
slender tapering forming probing stylets. The mandibles cut the
tissues like scissor and the maxillae thrust and retract
repeatedly. The blood vessels are ruptured by the teeth armed
at the tip of mandibles. The hypopharynx is long, narrow,
tapering stylet arising from the ventral wall of the head. The
saliva contains powerful anticoagulant.

F. SIPHONING TYPE MOUTHPARTS

It is the common mouthparts in nectar feeding insects. Labrum
is a small, present as a narrow transverse band at lower edge
of clypeas. Mandibles are usually absent or ill-defined in small
Lepidoptera. Maxillary palpi remain rudimentary. The feeding
organ is proboscis formed by the extension of the gelea.
Lacinia is reduced or absent. Labium is represented by 3
segmented large scaly labial palpi. Food channel is formed
from concave walls of the apposed galeae.

 Proboscis
The proboscis, as seen in adult Lepidoptera, is one of the
defining characteristics of the morphology of the order; it is a
long tube formed by the paired galeae of the maxillae. Unlike
sucking organs in other orders of insects, the Lepidopteran
proboscis can coil up so completely that it can fit under the
head when not in use. During feeding, however, it extends to
reach the nectar of flowers or other fluids. In certain specialist
pollinators, the proboscis may be several times the body length
of the moth.

G. CHEWING LAPPING TYPE MOUTHPARTS

Labrum and mandibles are similar to general chewing type.
Mandible flattened, lose bitting capability, spoon shaped.
Maxilla-labial complex lengthened and free part modified for
sucking. In maxillae, lacinia is lost and galeae are enlarged.
Stipes well developed bears a small pair of rudimentary palpi.
Cardo long, rod-like, V-shaped, small postmentum, articulate
with well develop prementum. The glossae of the labium
greatly elongated to form a hairy, flexible tongue that can be
rapidly protracted and retracted. Paraglossae are small and
present at the base of the glossae. Labial palp 4 segmented
with 1st and 2nd segment bladelike. Flabllum is the spoon-
like lobe at the end of the glossae (Figure 8). Bee thrusts out
tongue and licks the nectar with its tip. Glossae smear up
nectar rapidly and retract between the labial palpi and galeae.
Nectar is squeezed off the tongue by glossae and deposited
so as to accumulate in small cavity formed by paraglossae at
the base of glossae.
H. DEGENERATE TYPE MOUTHPARTS
a) Larvae of Aquatic Nematocera
True mouthparts are absent. External mouthparts form
brush like structures that bring water current suspended
particles into pharynx. Pharynx develops into a pump with
internal screen. Comb like screens are closely arranged with
spacing that permit removal of very fine suspended materials.

b) Muscoid or Higher Diptera

Usual mouthparts are totally suppressed. All of the head is
invaginated into thorax. Circular fold of neck projects forward
to from a conical snout or functional head. Only external
feeding organs are a pair of strong movable hooks derived
from cervical region. Musca domestica has only single mouth
hook. Hypopharynx, clypeas and associated parts and
sclerites of head collectively formed the cephalopharyngeal
skeleton.

4. Insect Vectors:
A vector may be any arthropod or animal which carries and
transmits infectious pathogens directly or indirectly from an
infected animal to a human or from an infected human to
another human.This can occur via biting (e.g. mosquitoes,
tsetse flies), penetration (e.g. guinea worm), or the
gastrointestinal tract (e.g. contaminated food or drink).
Arthropods are capable of serving as vectors, indicating that
they play a major role in disease transmission. Arthropods
that serve as vectors include mosquitoes, fleas, sand flies,
lice, ticks, and mites. These arthropods are responsible for
the transmission of numerous diseases. These types of
vectors are considered to be hematophagous. These
arthropod vectors are characterized as feeding on blood at
some or all stages of their life cycles. The arthropods feed on
the blood which typically allows parasites to enter the
bloodstream of the host.

1) Mosquito

There are more than 3400 species of mosquitoes, which

belong to 37 generajoined together in only a single family:
Culicidae, which is divided intothree sub-families: (1)
Toxorhynchitinae, (2) Anophelinae and (3)
Culicinae.Mosquitoes have a worldwide distribution. They
occur in tropical andtemperate zones, even on the level of the
Arctic Circle; there are, however, nomosquitoes in the
Antarctic. Mosquitoes are also found in mountainousregions
(at 5500 m altitude), as well as in caves and mines (at –1250
m altitude).The mosquitoes that bite humans and which are
the most important vectorsof disease, belong to the genera
Anopheles, Culex, Aedes, Mansonia, Haema-gogus and
Sabethes.1Anopheles can transmit malaria parasites, but also
lym-phatic microfilariae (e.g. Wuchereria bancrofti,Brugia
malayi and Brugiatimori) and some arboviruses (e.g. O’nyong-
nyong and equine encephalitis).Some Culex species also
transmit the microfilariae responsible for Bancroftianlymphatic
filariasis, as well as many arboviruses, such as the West
Nile,Japanese encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis, Murray
Valley encephalitis andRift Valley arboviruses. The Aedes
genus includes important vectors of theviruses responsible for
yellow fever, dengue (and hemorrhagic dengue), chi-
kungunya, eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), and many
other arboviruses. Some Aedes species also transmit
microfilarial parasites (Bancroftian lymphaticfilariasis), such as
Ae. polynesiensis in the Pacific islands.

Aedes

Aedes mosquitoes are widespread throughout the World,

even in Arctic zones where they represent an important
nuisance for the human populations and cattle. There are
some 870 species divided into 36 subspecies. Adult Culex
quinquefasciatus.
The eggs, generally black and ovoid, are laid separately on a
wet substrate.The eggs are resistant to desiccation for
several months, then, when they arecovered with water, the
eggs hatch quickly. Many Aedes larvae develop in small
temporary habitats like tree holes (e.g. Ae. pseudoscutellaris),
rock holes (e.g. Ae.Togoi and Ae. vittatus), bamboo stumps,
coconut shells (e.g. Ae. polynesiensis)and crab holes. Aedes
larvae are also well adapted to colonising
anthropogenichabitats, such as worn and abandoned tyres
(e.g. Ae.albopictus), funeral urns, cans, domestic containers
to preserve water (e.g. Ae. aegypti), or any other small
domestic containers. Their ability to develop in a large variety
of habitats, with,both freshwater and brackish water, and to
resist desiccation, confers great advantages on Aedes
mosquitoes in terms of adaptation and colonization of new
sites. As a consequence, larval control of Aedes mosquitoes
is quite problematic.In addition, as the larvae develop in water
containers reserved for drinking, it is necessary to pay great
attention in the choice of the larvicides employed. The
majority of Aedes adults have a particular and quite visible
ornamentation of white and black scales on the thorax and
legs, which often allows for their rapid identification. Aedes
albopictus has characteristic black and white scale stripes, at
the origin of his name ‘‘Tiger mosquito’’, as well as a central
line of white scales on the thorax . Aedes aegypti has a
characteristic shape of white scales drawing a ‘‘lyre’’ on the
thorax . The normal duration of the cycle, egg to adult, is from
one week to 10–12 days. Aedes tends to be a rural insect
which flees the urban areas and pullulates everywhere else,
especially in natural sites; except Aedes aegypti which is an
urban mosquito that reproduces in all domestic and
peridomestic containers(e.g. cans, gutters, dustbins,
wheelbarrows, flower pots, drums, dugouts, tyres, concrete
pits, grease-boxes, etc.). It bites only during the day, with a
peak of activity in the early morning and at sundown. Their
behavior is especially exophagic and exophilic, hence the use
of insecticides in indoor spraying (insideresidual spraying or
IRS) for adult control is inefficient. Control is therefore often
based on the elimination of larval habitats, with the
participation of local communities. During epidemics, spatial
and focal pulverizations must be repeated to eliminate
transmission. Epidemics of dengue (in Cayenne) have been
analyzed through geospatial studies, for monitoring the
expansion of the disease and in order to adapt the vector
control program according to the localcontext.4Some species
are involved in the transmission of pathogens, including:
Aedes aegypti, the main vector of yellow fever of urban type;
along with Ae. African usand Ae. simpsoni, the vectors of the
sylvatic yellow fever virus; and Ae. albopictus, a vector of
dengue and chikungunya viruses which is spreading across
the World (e.g. epidemics in Reunion Island in 2005–2006).
Aedes polynesiensis and Ae.pseudoscutellaris are important
vectors of diurnal and subperiodic Bancroft ianfilariasis, as
well as Ae. Togoi, which is also a vector of Brugia filariasis.
Aedes aegypti has a worldwide distribution and has colonized
the majority of the tropical countries. A species complex has
been recognized with two sub-species (or forms), Aedes
aegypti aegypti and Aedes aegypti formosus, which differ in
their biology, behavior, susceptibility to dengue viruses and
presentgenetic variations.6,7The pale, anthropophilic,
domestic form (Ae. ae. aegypti) develops mainly in
anthropogenic habitats and is involved worldwide in dengue
epidemics. The dark, non-anthropophilic, peri-domestic form
(Ae. ae.formosus) occurs primarily in Africa, it preferentially
colonizes natural sites and has only been reported in a forest
cycle of dengue in Western Africa. Aedes albopictus is
described as being the principal vector of dengue only when
Ae. aegypti is absent or present at low density, generally in
continental regions and suburban or rural zones. Its
receptivity to the dengue virus is less than Ae. ae. aegypti
(pale domestic form), but better than Ae. ae. Formosus (dark
peri-domestic form). Aedes albopictus is also thought to be
responsible for the maintenance of infection because its rate
of sexual and transovarian transmission higher than for Ae.
aegypti.
 Culex

Culex species are widespread in the whole World, exceptthe

most northern zones of temperate regions and the poles.
There are thought to be some 800 species divided into 21
sub-genre. The eggs, brown, long and cylindrical, are
deposited on the surface of water and bound to form a ‘‘raft’’
composed of some 300 eggs which are laid in a large variety
of aquatic habitats: small puddles, pools, permanent or
temporary ponds, flooded marshes, borrow pits, ditches, rice
plantations, as well as anthropogenic sites such as cans,
cisterns, and even sewage drains with polluted water. The
most important species, Culex quinquefasciatus, is strongly
associated with anarchistic urbanization, with poor hygiene
conditions and worn-out water drainage systems containing
organic matter where the larvae can develope (e.g. polluted
stagnant water, gutters, septic tanks, sewage drains, etc.).
The density of mosquito populations can be very high under
such conditions and constitutes a major cause of nuisance for
the people affected.
 Anopheles

Anopheles species are principally known for their involvement

as vectors of malaria pathogens. It breeds in non polluted
water; edges of rivers, swamps, impoundments, ditches,
tanks, saltwater habitats protected from wave action, rice
fields, temporary rainpools, hoofprints etc. Anopheles species
are distributed by geographic zone,whereas some species of
Aedes and Culex have a panmictic distribution. The adults are
night biters (from sundown to sunrise), although some
specimens can bite during the daytime in forests or when
cloudy.13Their behavior can be anthropophilic/zoophilic,
endophagic/exophagic or endophilic/exophilic. The biting
activity is important to know in order to establish appropriate
vector control methods. Insecticide treated nets(ITN) are
obviously particularly efficient against endophagic species
biting especially during the second part of the night. Biting
behavior is more commonly not restricted but depends on the
accessibility of hosts and resting places. Some species are
more opportunistic than others, but even strongly
anthropophilic species can blood feed on animals if their
preferential hosts are unavailable. Some authors have
proposed a vector control method called ‘‘zooprophylaxy’’ by
deviating the anthropophilic Anopheles species towards
animals. Anopheles species are principally known for their
involvement as vectors of malaria pathogens. The efficiency
of vector control programs requires a precise identification of
the species concerned, especially important and arduous for
species complexes, and a thorough knowledge of the biology
of the actual vector in order to set up and evaluate strategies
adapted to the local eco-epidemiological context and the
behavior of the targeted species.
 2) Lice

Three species/subspecies of human louse occur in the world.

They are all, male and female, blood-sucking ectoparasites.
1. The body louse , Pediculus humanus humanus
2. The head louse , Pediculus capitis
3. The pubic (crab louse) , Pthitrus pubis
All the three types of lice have almost same biology. Three
stages constitute their life cycle; egg, nymph, and adult. Only
the body louse is a vector of disease (typhus). The others do
not transmit disease but may cause irritation and severe
itching. Lice are spread by close contact between humans.

 Pediculus capitis (head lice) and Pediculus

humanus (body lice)

The P. humanus louse is specific to man and

cosmopolitan.1The lice are permanent and obligatory
ectoparasites and hematophagous at all stages and in both
sexes.35The egg (nit) hatches to release a nymph after six
days at 35 1C and nine days at 29 1C. The nit shell remains
attached to the hair shaft. Nymphs mature after three moults
and become adults seven to 12days after hatching. Females
can lay six to nine nits per day and around200 to 300 nits
during its life. Adult lice can live up to 30 days on its host and
blood feed 2–3 times daily. Temperature is a key factor in
their biology, during variations in the host (fever or death), the
louse leaves the body leading to a dissemination of the lice.
An unfed louse survives only 2to 5 days away from its host,
but well engorged ones can survive 8 to 10days. Meals can
be taken during day and night. The head louse is found
behind the ears and on the nape of the neck; the body louse
is found on clothing. There are generally about 100 to 200 lice
per host, but massive infestations may occur with more than
20 000 nits and adults on a shirt. The dissemination takes
place by physical contact with an individual carrying lice or
contaminated clothing, which is supported by poor hygiene
conditions and promiscuity due to poverty, misery or war.

 Phthirus pubis (crab lice)

The biological cycle of crab lice is comparable with that of the

other lice. The nit is attached to a hair; incubation requires 7–
8 days. The larval phase includes three stages and lasts 13–
17 days. The female lives about a month, during which she
lays about 30 eggs. Crab lice are localised in the pubic and
perianal areas, but in the event of massive infestation they
can also invade the beard, the lashes, eyebrows, etc. They
are sedentary and remain fixed at the level of the same hair.
Dissemination occurs by sexual contact. It is a cosmopolitan
human parasites.
3)Bed Bug

Two types of bed bugs are there-

Adult bed bugs
Young bed bugs

Adult bed bugs:

 About the size of an apple seed (5-7 mm or 3/16 - 1/4
inch long);
 Long and brown, with a flat, oval-shaped body (if not fed
recently);
 Balloon-like, reddish-brown, and more elongated (if fed
recently);
 A “true bug” (characteristics of true bugs include a beak
with three segments; antenna that have four parts; wings
that are not used for flying; and short, golden-colored
hairs); and
 Smelly, with a “musty-sweetish” odor produced through
glands on the lower side of the body.
 Young bed bugs (nymphs) :

 Smaller, translucent or whitish-yellow in color; and

 If not recently fed, can be nearly invisible to the naked

eye because of coloring and size.

During its lifetime, a bed bug goes through the following

stages :
 Eggs (1mm).
 1st stage nymph (1.5 mm).
 2nd stage nymph (2 mm).
 3rd stage nymph (2.5 mm).
 4th stage nymph (3 mm).
 5th stage nymph (4.5 mm).
 Unfed adult female.
 Unfed adult male.
Ten to 50 eggs are deposited by batch and during its entire
life a female bedbuglays 200 to 500 eggs. They are laid in
cracks in the ground, walls, beds, etc.1Theyare stuck to a
support and hatch after ten days at 20 1C. Larvae moult
everyeight days under favourable conditions and their size
varies from 1.5 mm (stage1) to 3.5 mm (stage 5). The larval
stages are hematophagous and nocturnal. Theadult stage is
reached after six to nine weeks. The adult meal lasts 10 to
15minutes and both sexes are hematophagous. They feed on
vertebrates, such asbirds, bats and men, during the night.
They feed once a week during the hotseason, and twice a
month during spring and autumn, but they can surviveseveral
months in the absence of a host. The mean lifespan is about
9 to 18months at 18–20 1C with the availability of hosts. On
the 91 known species ofCimicidae, three are parasitic to man:
(1) Cimex lectularius, the familiar bedbugwith a cosmopolitan
distribution in temperate subtropical regions of the world;(2)
Cimex hemipterus (¼Cimex rotundatus) distributed in the
tropical zones ofthe world; and (3) Leptocimex boueti mainly
associated with bats in West Africa,but which can also bite
man. Among the other species biting man, there areOecacius
vicarius in Canada and the United States, Haematosiphon
inodorus inMexico and Southern United States, and Cimex
hirundinis in England. They live in temperate and tropical
zones. They are active only at night where they feed on
humans and animals.
4) Sand fly ( Phlebotomus)

Phlebotomine sandflies belong to the family of Psychodidae

(Diptera, Nemato-cera). These insects with complete
metamorphosis are of a great medical importance as
biological vectors of the leishmaniasis (kala-azar, oriental
sore, espundia, etc.). There are more than 600 species of
sandflies classified into five genera. The two genera of
greatest medical importance are:
(1) Phlebotomus: distributed in the Old World (e.g. the
Oriental, Afrotropical and Palaearcticregions), they bite
mammals and humans and are vectors of leishmaniasis; and
(2) Lutzomyia: occurring in the New World, its anthropophilic
species are vectors of visceral leishmaniasis in South
America. There are approximately 17 species of the genus
Leishmania distributed in 88 countries throughout the five
continents, with 350 million people living in at-risk areas of
leishmaniasis. It has been estimated that 12 million people
are affected by leishmaniasis. There are four main forms of
the disease:
(1) the benign form causing permanent cutaneous lesions;
(2) the intermediate form, which attacks the muco-cutaneous
membranes, dis-figuring patients for life;
(3) the diffuse cutaneous form;
(4) the visceral form which is fatal if left untreated. Currently,
the estimate of the world annual incidence of cases of
leishmaniases ranges between 1.5 and 2 million, being
distributed between 1 to 1.5 million cutaneous cases and
about 500 000 visceral cases.
The eggs (around 50) are laid separately in various types of
habitats, such as cracks in the ground, burrows of small
mammals, caves, slits of walls and the grounds of dwellings
or cattle sheds. Habitats are generally quiet, dark, cool and
damp places with the presence of organic detritus. The egg
incubation lasts4 to 17 days according to temperature and
season. Larvae are sedentary, saprophagous and
phytophagous. There are four larval stages and the last moult
produces the pupa which remains fixed by its abdominal end
in the larval habitat and does not feed. The immature
development lasts 20 to 75 days.1Theadults encounter each
other in habitats that are calm, in the proximity of vertebrate
hosts (blood meals), and near favourable larval habitats.
Females are hematophagous (pool feeding lasting 10–30
min). They can be found in both domestic and natural (e.g.
associated with reptiles and rodents) environments. The
majority of the species are rather zoophilic (e.g. bat, rodents,
carnivorous, marsupials, birds, reptiles, etc.), but the main
vectors of leish-maniasis, Lutzomyia intermedia and L.
longipalpis in America and P. papatasiin the Mediterranean
basin, are anthropophilic and endophilic. Sandflies are
generally active at sundown or at night, but they can be
diurnal in the canopy(e.g. L. trapidoi in Panama). They have a
short flight (o1 km), but considerable dispersion with the wind
is possible.
 5) House fly ( Musca domestica)

Musca domestica is the most common flies all over the world.
More than 100 pathogens may cause diseases in human and
animals by housefly. These pathogens included infantile
diarrhea, anthrax, cholera, ophthalmia, bacillary dysentery,
typhoid, and tuberculosis. Also, houseflies transmitted many
of helminthic eggs as E. vermicularis, S. stercoralis, T.
trichiura and T. caracanis, Trichomonas, Diphyllobothriam,
hymenolepis, taenia, and Dipylidium species. It may also
transmit protozoa cysts and trophozoites as E. histolytica and
Giardia lamblia (Adenusi and Adewoga 2013a). Some
bacteria carried by housefly as E. coli, Shigella species, and
Salmonella, in addition to viral pathogens through its vomits
or excreta. It acts as a mechanical vector for diseases
transmission, i.e., contaminated water, unhygienic food
handlers, and convalescent carriers.
Musca domestica consists of egg, larva, pupa then adult,
housefly has one pair of membranous wings, compound
reddish eyes tarsi fine segmented with four dark strips on
thorax. Its mouthparts are of sponging type to soak up the
liquid food. It can feed on solid food after changing them to
liquid by spitting or vomiting on it to dissolve by salivary gland
secretions (Onyenwe et al. 2016). Adults of housefly can feed
on human food, excreta animal dung, sweat, garbage, and
wet or decaying matter of pet waste because they have
strong odor. Also, housefly feed on syrup, meat broth, milk,
and all materials present in human settlement areas. They
feed twice or thrice a day (Iqbal et al. 2014). Housefly larvae
named maggots and have 0.3 in. in length. A female housefly
lays 75–150 eggs in each hatch, it may lay 4–6 hatches.
Garbage and filthy food are the main breeding sites for
houseflies (Yahaya et al. 2016). Adult housefly has a life span
from 15 to 30 days. Eggs have 1–2 mm in length, white in
color, and within a day, the eggs are hatched into larvae.
Larvae or maggots is 3–9 mm long, whitish in color, have no
legs, and they feed on dead or decaying organic materials as
feces or garbage. After 14 to 36 h, it reached to 8 mm. in
length with brown color. Finally, it converted to pupa which
changes into an adult housefly through 5 days. They favor the
warm climatic conditions. Musca domestica lives closely with
humans and domestic animals, and often found in areas of
human activities such as restaurants, hospitals, food centers,
food markets, fish markets, and slaughterhouses (El-Sherbini
and El-Sherbini 2011). Over 100 pathogens including
bacteria, fungi, virus, and parasites are carried by M.
domestica, and they depend on the area where is collected.
Pathogens were more frequently isolated from the body
surfaces of houseflies, especially from those captured from
human habitations and animal farms (Awache and Farouk
2016). The quantity of pathogens present in the gut is usually
higher than the quantity present on the body surfaces
suggesting that feces and vomitus may also serve as a major
route of transmission of pathogens.
 5. Diseases transmitted by the
above Vectors:

Mosquito

 Malaria

Only Anopheles species are vectors of malaria parasites

which affect nearly 50%of the world’s inhabitants living in the
109 endemic countries, especially the poor developing
countries (see Figure 1.6). The WHO evaluated that there are
approximately 250 million cases of malaria annually, with
nearly 1 million deaths, 90% in Africa, south of the Sahara
which pays a heavy debt to this disease. Malaria is due to
Protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium of which four
species are primarily involved: Plasmodium falciparum. vivax,
P. malariae, and P. ovale. Recent reports have suggested a
possible fifth species, Plasmodium Knowles, as an important
and common emerging zoonotic pathogen responsible for
human infections in Southeast Asia. Globally, P. falciparum is
the most common cause of malarial infection, responsible for
approximately80% of all cases and 90% of deaths.
Plasmodium transmission from the Anopheles vector to
humans is accomplished by direct injection of the parasite at
the sporozoite stage, contained in salivary gland fluid during
blood feeding. Of the 484 recognized species of Anopheles,
only about 15% or less are generally involved in malaria
parasite transmission. From a biological point of view, the
Anopheles mosquito is the definitive host for the parasite,
where sexual reproduction between male and female
gametes occurs, whereas humans are the intermediate hosts
only where asexual multiplication (schizogonic cycle) takes
place. Anopheles females become infected by ingesting
sexually mature gametocytes present in the peripheral blood
of the host. In the mosquito midgut fertilization produces the
ookinete which traverses the mosquito gut and forms an
oocyst under the outermost layer of the gut wall. After
repeated multiplication of sporoblasts, each oocyst eventually
ruptures, releasing hundreds of sporozoites into the mosquito
body cavity, a proportion of which will invade the salivary
glands awaiting the opportunity to infect another human upon
the next blood feeding by the mosquito. This ‘‘sporogonic
phase’’(from gametocytes ingestion to infective sporozoite)
takes on average 8–14 days in tropical conditions depending
on the ambient temperature for Plasmodium falciparum or P.
vivax, and much longer for P. malariae or P. ovale.
Sporogonic development does not occur at temperatures
below 16 or 18 1C. Infective female mosquitoes will generally
remain infectious during their entire life and can therefore
inoculate sporozoites at each blood feeding.

 Lymphatic Filariasis (LF)

Lymphatic filariasis is regarded as the second most common

global arthropod-borne infectious disease, with an estimated
burden of 128 million infected people distributed over 78
endemic countries (see Figure 1.7) and an estimation of 1.3
billion people at risk from developing new active LF infection
annually.20Like malaria, the predominance of LF infections
are found in humid tropical areas of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa,
the western Pacific and scattered areas of the Americas.
Although not fatal, LF is considered a leading cause of
infirmity ,permanent disability and chronic morbidity, often
resulting in a societal stigma of disfigured victims. This
disease is caused by macroscopic nematode pathogens, of
which Wuchereria Bancroft is responsible for 90% of human
LF infections. The remaining 10% are due to two species of
the genus Brugia (B. malayi and B. timori) and occur only in
Asia. There are three variants of W. Bancroft recognized on
periodicity patterns of circulating microfilaria (mf) found in the
peripheral blood of humans, namely, the nocturnally periodic
(NP), the nocturnal sub periodic (NSP) and the diurnal sub
periodic (DSP) forms. Periodicity is based on the prevailing
circadian distribution of mf in the peripheral blood e.g, the
nocturnally periodic (NP) form presents the majority of mf by
night(peak periodicity 22.00–03.00 hrs). The primary vectors
of the NP filariae are nocturnally active mosquitoes, such as
Anopheles species in rural areas and Culex quinquefasciatus
in urban settings. The NP variant is responsible for the vast
majority of infections occurring worldwide in patchy foci
distributed along the tropical and subtropical belt. The sub
periodic microfilariae are strongly correlated to a transmission
by vectors of the genera Aedes and Ochlerotatus, which are
diurnally active species.
The cycle starts with the absorption of mf by the female
mosquito during the blood meal. They reach and cross the
abdominal midgut (stomach) wall into the hemocoel to migrate
to the insect’s thoracic flight muscles to begin development.
Microfilariae do not reproduce in the vector, but rather each
worm completes two intermediate larval stages moults to
become a third-stage infective parasite. The L3 eventually
breaks free from the flight muscles into the hemocoel and
ultimately ends up in the insect’s head lodged in or near the
labium of the proboscis. As for the malaria parasite, the filarial
development within the mosquito takes approximately 10–14
days and is also temperature dependent. When the mosquito
takes a blood meal, the 1.2–1.6 mm long L3 infective larvae
will break free through the cuticle or emerge from the tip
(labellum) of the labium onto the skin. In contrast to malaria
parasites, filarial nematodes are not inoculated but deposited
on the skin and they must actively enter the host body via an
open portal (e.g., the mosquito bite wound or a nearby break
in the skin). High ambient humidity and skin moisture favour
successful transmission. After entering the vertebrate host,
theL3 is transported via the lymphatic vessels to the lymph
nodes to begin development into mature adult worms.
Contrary to Plasmodium, the mosquito acts as the
intermediate host and humans serve as the definitive host for
Wuchereria and Brugia species.
Depending on transmission intensity, the LF infection is
usually acquired early in childhood, although a period of ten to
20 years of exposure may be required before presenting the
characteristic morbid manifestation called‘ ‘elephantiasis’’,
visible at adolescence and adulthood. Although the chronic
physical phase of the disease afflicts only a small percentage
of those infected, in its most apparent forms, LF morbidity can
result in temporary or permanent infirmity which is often the
painful and gross enlargement of the legs and arms, the
genitals, vulva and mammary glands. Additionally, adult
worms and mf can also cause internal damage and disease to
other organs such as kidneys and lungs. The psychological
and social stigmas associated with the disease are immense
and it has a major social and economic impact in countries
where 10–50% of men and up to 10% of women can be
adversely affected due to permanent damage to the lymphatic
system.

 Chikungunya

Chikungunya causes dengue-like syndromes which comprise

fugacious rash and arthralgia or arthritis during five to seven
days. Chikungunya virus prevails on the endemic mode, with
great epidemics in Sub-Saharan Africa (e.g. Senegal in 1996
and 1997 and Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999–2000),
in Southeast Asia, Indian sub-continent. Reservoir hosts are
primates, domestic cattle and birds. Vectors belong to the
genus Aedes, particularly Ae.aegypti. Epidemics occurred in
the Comoros Islands in early 2005 with extension to other
islands of the archipelago: Mauritius, Mayotte and La
Reunion, with Ae. albopictus as the vector.5,22Since 2005,
massive outbreaks of chikungunya have also been reported in
India.23After four to seven days of incubation, a brutal fever
of 40 1C starts followed by intense joint pain of the member
extremities, arthritis, cephalgias, and sometimes organ failure
and heart attacks. There is a high frequency of asymptomatic
infections. Serology may not be able to distinguish between
chikungunya virus. The immunity is durable. Treatment is
based on anti-inflammatory drugs. Vector control is difficult
due to the resistance of the eggs to desiccation and the
multiplicity of small man-made breeding sites suitable for
Aedes development.

 Dengue Virus

Transmission of dengue virus occurs in all tropical and

subtropical zones of the world. This is the main public health
problem among arboviruses. There are four viral serotypes,
dengue 1, 2, 3 and 4, which do not induce cross-protection.
Currently, dengue occurs throughout the world, from India to
Brazil, Venezuela to China, and on islands such as the West
Indies (Martinique, Cuba, etc.) or French Polynesia, being
reported in more than 100 countries. Worldwide, more than 50
million cases of dengue fever occur every year. Roughly 500
000 people with dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) require
hospitalization each year, a very large proportion being
children, and about 2.5% of those affected die. The increase
in the number of dengue cases can be explained by
uncontrolled demographic growth, wild urbanization, the
absence of an adequate policy of water management, the
virus propagation through travellers and commercial trades,
and a general decrease in vector control programs. Clinically,
there are several dengue forms: asymptomatic dengue,
classical dengue and the serious forms, in particular DHF and
dengue shock syndrome (DSS), which can result in death,
especially among children. The diagnosis is biological with the
search for specific IgM, virus isolation and PCR. The
treatment is symptomatic, but for DHF an intensive care unit
is required. Man is the principal reservoir host and
disseminator, although infected monkeys have been found in
Asia and Africa. Vectors belong to the genus Aedes. Although
Ae. aegypti is the major vector, Ae. albopictus plays an
important part in rural and peri-urban areas and develops
under temperate climates.

 Japanese Encephalitis (JE)

Japanese encephalitis is an expanding disease distributed

across the Asian continent, from India to the Philippines, north
of China to Indonesia and New Guinea, especially in rural
zones (e.g. in piggeries and rice plantations). The symptoms
range from asymptomatic forms to encephalitis with coma and
death or sometimes with very serious after-effects (e.g.
children). Approximately 50 000 cases per year are reported,
with 25 to30% resulting in death. Reservoir hosts are wild or
domestic birds (e.g. ducks) and pigs; vectors: Culex. A
vaccine is available for local populations living in rural zones,
travellers or expatriates staying in highly endemic rural zones.
The main vectors belong to the Vishnui subgroup,especially
Culex tritaeniorhynchus, along with Cx. pseudovishnui and
Cx. vishnui.

Lice

Lice are biting pests which are at the origin of dermic

diseases such aspediculosis, which is a real public health
problem in developing countries,as well as developed and
industrialized ones. Prevalence of head liceFigure 1.13 Adult
head lice.39Main Topics in Entomology: Insects as Disease
Vectors
among school-aged children is a growing concern due to their
resistanceto common insecticides. Itching is intense and
scratching of bites cancause impetigo and even carvical
adenopathies. For body lice, itchingoccurs principally on the
shoulders, the back, the armpits and the belt,which can also
result in impetigo with scratching of the bites. In devel-oped
countries, it is usually found on homeless vagrants. The skin
canpresent dark and hard areas (melanoderma or ‘‘vagrant’s
disease’’) due tobiting with the injection of saliva by the lice
followed by continuous scratching.
 Bed bug

Bedbugs do not transmit any parasite to man although they

may be a potentialvector of hepatitis B, exanthematic typhus,
plague, leprosy, recurring fevers,leishmaniasis.40The bites
from bedbugs can involve important pruriginousreactions, and
even nervous or digestive disorders. The reactions can also
beserious in children (signs of great exhaustion). The reactions
can begin fromtwo to three minutes after the end of the blood
meal.Bedbugs are becoming resistant to the insecticides
available and they are areal nuisance worldwide, with a current
alarming invasion spreading to eventhe most expensive hotels
of North America.

Sand fly

 Transmission of Leishmania

Sandflies are the only vectors of Leishmania, a protozoan

parasite.29More than50 species of sandflies are involved in
the transmission of several Leishmania species to man, such
as species of the Lutzomyia Donovan complex (e.g. Le.
donovani, Le.infantum and Le.chagasi); the Le.mexicana
complex (e.g. Le.mexicana, Le.amazonensis and Le.
venezuelensis); Le.tropica; Le.major; Le.aethiopica; species
of the sub-genus Viannia (e.g. Le.braziliensis, Le.
guyanensis,Le.panamensis and Le.peruviana).
Morphologically indistinguishable, species within a complex
require molecular techniques for reliable identification. The
human parasites at the amastigote stage are ingested during
the bite, and they transform into promastigotes with flagellum
and multiply within the sandfly gut. The promastigotes are
highly motile and they migrate forward to the oesophagus and
the pharynx, and gain the oral parts about 9–10 days after the
blood-meal. Leishmania parasites are deposited passively on
the wound of the bite. The entire development lasts up to two
weeks, depending on the Leishmania species and
temperature, and it stays infective throughout the life ofthe
infected sandfly. Phlebotomus ariasi of southern France
infected by Le.infantum can normally survive 30 days carrying
out three to four gonotrophic cycles (3–4 changes to
transmit).

 Transmission of Bartonella

Bartonella bacilliformis is responsible for a human infection

present in certain dry valleys on the Western slope of the
Andes (at altitudes of 500 to 3000 m) of Peru, Ecuador and
Colombia. There are two clinical29Main Topics in
Entomology: Insects as Disease Vectors
forms:
(1) Peruvian Verruga
(2) the fever of Oroya or Carrion disease.
The principal vector is Lutzomyia verrucarum, the other
vectors are L. noguchii,L. peruensis and L. pescei.

 Transmission of arboviruses

At least 25 viruses are transmitted by sandflies and are

responsible for sandfly fevers. These include the papataci
fever, or ‘‘three-day fever’’, caused by distinct virus serotypes
(Naples and Sicilian) and which results in acute febrile illness
in man for approximately two to four days. These sandfly
fevers occur along the Mediterranean basin (vector:
Phlebotomus papatasi), Middle East (e.g. Iran, Afghanistan),
Central Asia, Pakistan, India, Oriental Africa and tropical
America.
 House fly

Housefly causes mechanical transmission of pathogens from

one vertebrate host to another without amplification or
development of the organism within the vector. Bacterial and
fungi were the most frequently isolated pathogens, parasites
and viruses were the least frequently isolated pathogens.

House flies lead to diseases like:

 Typhoid
 Cholera
 Salmonellosis
 Dysentery
 Polio
 Diarrhea
 Tuberculosis
 Anthrax
 Eye inflammation
 Virus like Rota virus
 Viral hepatitis
 Poliomyelitis
 Fungi
The parasitological pathogens as enteric protozoa as cyst and
trophozoites or helminthic eggs (Entamoena histolytica,
Isospora species, Sacrocystis species, Entamoeba coli,
Toxoplasma gondii, Giardia species, Cryptosporidium
parvum, Trichomonas species, Dipylidium species,
Hymenolepis species, and Diphyllobothrium species).
Also, nematodes like helminthic eggs as Toxocara spp.,
Trichiuris trichiura, Strongyliod stercoralis, Taenia
species, Ancyclostoma caninum, Enterobius vermicularis
and larvae of Harbonema which they transport on their feet
and hairy legs.

Many human and animal diseases are due to the pathogens

transmitted by insects. Among the deadliest infectious
diseases worldwide, malaria and dengue hemorrhagic fever
are vector-borne diseases. Many insect vectors belong to
the Diptera order, such as mosquitoes, biting midges,
sandflies, blackflies and tsetse flies, but insects of other
orders can also transmit important pathogens like lice, fleas
and bloodsucking bugs. Pathogenic agents can be parasites
(e.g. protozoa, filariae, cestods, etc.), bacteria (e.g.
rickettsiae, borellia, etc.), and viruses (e.g. arboviruses) that
undergo a development inside the insect vector to reach
their infective stage. Transmission can be done through the
insect’s bite with direct inoculation, or with pathogens
deposited by the insect saliva or faeces onto the skin and
entering their host either through scratching or by active
action of the pathogen into the host wound. For these insect-
borne diseases, vector control is one of the first preventive
measures, if not the only one in most cases due to a lack of
vaccine (except for yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis)
and resistance issues in chemo pro-phylaxis. Therefore,
vector control is an integral component of vector-borne
disease control programmes. However, in order to reach
their full efficiency, vector control operations and
programmes must be based on a sound knowledge of the
targeted vectors (e.g. species identification, biology,
distribution etc.), of the local and regional ecological context,
and of the socio-cultural conditions of human populations.

---------------------