Colonization and Maintenance of and From the Republic Of Korea.

The Hyrcanus Group in the Republic of Korea (ROK) consists of 5 morphologically indistinct species that can only be identified with certainty by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 86 bloodfed spp. were collected from a cow barn located in the village of Tongilchon near the demilitarized zone in the ROK on June 13, 2016, and sent to the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences in Bangkok, Thailand, where they were identified to species by PCR. The 1st shipment contained 15 and 37 females that were used to start the colonies. Parent females that oviposited were identified by PCR for colonization. A higher proportion of F-F females of than bloodfed when provided both blood meals on human arms and using a membrane feeding system with human blood. Following blood meals, the females were forced mated for colony maintenance. The mean numbers of eggs oviposited per female for was 127.7 ± 19.3 and for was 136 ± 23.6. On average, at 25°C (±2°C) and took 15.1 and 16.1 days to develop from egg to adult, respectively. A 2nd group of bloodfed spp. was collected at the same location in the ROK on June 24, 2017. This group contained 13 and 27 . Similarly, eggs were obtained and adults identified by PCR and then reared to adults and subsequent generations forced mated to members of each of the existing colonies to increase genetic diversity. The colonies were established to evaluate their susceptibility to vector vivax malaria, which is essential to better understand the epidemiology of malaria transmission in Korea. This is the 1st report of colonization of both and .