The main vector of malaria Anopheles gambiae maintains the transmission of malaria over long periods of time, because of the exceptional longevity and great ability to adapt to various environments. The aim of this study is to understand the impact of the predefined egg laying delay that characterizes long dry seasons on reproductive dynamics, feeding habit, and mortality rate of An. gambiae gravid females. For this purpose, gravid females of An. gambiae awaiting laying, previously fed with blood were kept under observation in cages for several weeks. Then, at the end of predefined periods of observation, these gravid females were individually made to lay eggs, and the development cycle of eggs was studied in comparison with eggs laid in the normal conditions (controls). In addition, the behaviour of feeding and mortality rate were studied in gravid females kept in cages, without laying, for several weeks. The results obtained show that the average egg-laying number of the control females varies little from that of the females obliged to retain their eggs in abdomen for several days. The hatching rate was 86.2% in no retention batches and 31% in a 50-day retention batches. The adults' emergence rate was 77.7% in no eggs retention batches and 18.3% for eggs laid after 50 days of retention. In the batches of eggs with 20 days of retention, the emergence rate decreased significantly 0.89 times compared to control batches. The feeding rate of gravid females increased from 96.7% at the 1st blood meal to 12.5% at the 10th. In addition, the mortality rate of gravid females awaiting for laying is 0.36 times lower than that of no gravid females.
Keywords: Anopheles gambiae; Blood meal; Bémavogo; Côte d’Ivoire; Egg retention; Gossonkaha; Gravid females; Kiémou; Longo; Nalourgokaha; Niakaramandougou; Sub-Saharan Africa; Wild strain.