RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF ADULT +MOSQUITOES IN IMO STATE POLYTECHNIC (OMUMA CAMPUS), OMUMA, ORU-EAST, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

Most Mosquitoes are of public health importance because they serve as vectors for the transmission of parasitic diseases. A study on the relative abundance of mosquitoes in some selected area of Imo State Polytechnic Omuma was conducted between the months of February and May 2023. Mosquitoes were collected from two sampling sites: Male hostel and female hostel. Mosquitoes were collected indoors between 05:30pm and 06:00 am using the pyrethrum-base aerosol spray (Raid) method. Mosquitoes were picked with forceps, dropped on a clean slide and then observed under a light microscope with X40 objective. Features such as size of antennae, size of maxillary palps, length of proboscis etc were observed, compared and recorded. Percentage prevalence was used to determine the relative abundance of mosquitoes. A total of 200 adult mosquitoes comprising of 107(53.5%) females and 93(46.5%) males were collected belonging to three Genera: Anopheles, Aedes and Culex mosquitoes. Out of the three Genera, Anopheles mosquitoes were the most abundant with 123(61.5%), followed by Culex mosquitoes, with 45(22.5%) and Aedes mosquitoes with 32(16.0%). Collection from the different sites revealed 106(53.0%) from female hostel, followed by 94 (47.0%) from male hostel. Mosquito species abundance revealed that Anopheles species was higher in terms of abundance. Anopheles species are very important vectors of malaria in Nigeria. These results revealed that vectors of mosquito-borne diseases are breeding in the study area. Concerted efforts should be made by stake-holders to reduce the abundance of mosquitoes to prevent outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases.