SHORT COMMUNICATIONS The effect of entomopathogenic fungus infection on female fecundity of the major malaria vector, Anopheles funestus J.C. Mouatcho 1,2 , L.L. Koekemoer 1,3 , M. Coetzee 1,3 & B.D. Brooke 1,3 * 1 Vector Control Reference Unit, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the NHLS, Private Bag X4, Sandringham, Johannesburg, 2131 South Africa 2 School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2000 South Africa 3 Malaria Entomology Research Unit, School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2000 South Africa Anopheles funestus is a major vector of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. It is amenable to control by indoor residual insecticide spraying and insecti- cide-treated bed nets owing to strong endophagic and endophilic tendencies (Gillies & De Meillon 1968; Sinka et al. 2010). However, the emergence of resistance to insecticides in several populations (Hargreaves et al. 2000; Casimiro et al. 2006; Coetzee et al. 2006; Morgan et al. 2010) necessitates the development of tailored resistance management strategies that could include the use of insecticides in conjunction with biological components. The entomopathogenic fungi, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae, are candidate organisms for the control of malaria vectors. Beauveria bassiana and M. anisopliae occur naturally and are generally considered to be environmen- tally safe (Genthner et al. 1998; Peveling et al. 1999). They are widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions and are pathogenic to a wide range of insect species (Scholte et al. 2004). The conidia of these hyphomycetous fungi are able to penetrate the cuticle and invade insects internally, without the need for ingestion. Death usually occurs within ten days of infection (Roy et al. 2006). Assessments of their potential efficacy as disease vector control agents shows that a high level of pathogenicity can be achieved against mosquito vectors, including An. funestus, depending on spore viability, spore formulation, mode of spore delivery and ambient environmental conditions (Scholte et al. 2003; Scholte et al. 2004; Scholte et al. 2007; Thomas & Read 2007; Farenhorst et al. 2008). In addition to dramatically shortening the life spans of infected mosquitoes, fungal infections of this nature can also reduce rates of disease trans- mission by reducing the propensity for blood- feeding (Scholte et al. 2006). Further, co-infection with Plasmodium malaria parasites and entomo- pathogenic fungi leads to the inhibition of parasite development in malaria vector mosquitoes, reduc- ing their potential for malaria transmission (Blanford et al. 2005). Beauveria bassiana and M. anisopliae are generally equally virulent against insecticide-resistant and insecticide-susceptible malaria vector populations (Kikankie et al. 2010), although permethrin resis- tance in the malaria vector, An. gambiae, has been associated with increased susceptibility to fungus infection (Howard et al. 2010). Further, infection with these fungi attenuates the level of insecticide resistance in malaria vector species (Farenhorst et al. 2009), enhancing the potential use of these fungi for insecticide resistance management. Unlike the action of most insecticides, entomo- pathogenic fungi are slow-killing, allowing for reproduction prior to death, which is likely to circumvent the development of resistance to fungal infection in target mosquito populations (Read et al. 2009). In this scenario the fecundity of fungus-infected female mosquitoes is an impor- tant consideration. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of entomopathogenic fungus infection on the subse- quent fecundity of An. funestus females as well as to quantify the follow-on effect on the pre-adult life histories of their progeny. Samples of 4–5 day-old An. funestus females were African Entomology 19(3): 725–729 (2011) *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: basilb@nicd.ac.za