The relative propensity to feed on humans of females of 5 species of Anopheles mosquitoes was studied in 4 malaria-endemic villages of Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. The vertical barrier screen, constructed of shade cloth configured to posts, was verified as a suitably unbiased sampling method as it captured both host seeking and blood fed individuals throughout the night. More non-blood fed females were capture on the bush side of the screen earlier in the evening whereas more blood fed females were captured on the village side later in the evening. Host identification of blood meals by sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome B gene revealed that humans and domestic pigs were the most common and often only hosts, even though other potential vertebrate hosts were present in abundance. Anopheles punctulatus and An. koliensis were highly anthropophagous, An. farauti s.s, An. longirostris, and An. farauti (species 4) relatively less so, whilst An. bancrofti fed mostly on pigs. The implications of these findings for malaria transmission are discussed with reference to the human blood index.
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