Malaria Mosquito Host-Seeking Activity Times in Manhiça District, Rural Mozambique, and the Need to Better Match Entomological Surveillance Strategies to Daylight Cycles

Daytime biting malaria mosquitoes present a challenge for malaria elimination efforts in sub-Saharan Africa. Diurnal mosquito host-seeking activity times were assessed indoors and outdoors in two villages in the Manhiça district. Subsequently, sunrise and sunset data across longitudes and latitudes spanning the African continent were used to assess if current entomological surveillance approaches align with (seasonal changes in) local daylight cycles. The most abundant species was <i>Anopheles tenebrosus</i>, and daytime (defined as the period between 06:00 and 18:00) host-seeking was only observed in a single <i>Anopheles ziemanni</i>. However, sunset occurred at 17:06 on that day, which means this specimen (collected between 16:00 and 18:00) could have been collected during nighttime. Further analysis of sunrise and sunset times across several African countries show these can change by over 2 h throughout the year, depending on longitude and latitude. As changes in daylight cycles can affect mosquito and human behaviors (e.g., time spent indoors and sleeping), surveillance strategies need to be adjusted to match actual daylight cycles and/or important human behavioral components. This will allow us to collect more actionable data to inform malaria control and elimination programs.