Modelling sterile insect technique to control the population of Anopheles gambiae

Malaria Journal

Table 2 The state transition rules of the model

State	Duration	Exit condition	Note
Egg	1 day + H _t	None	Reflects incubation and hatch time.
Larva	about 12 days	Nighttime	Larval mortality is density dependent and favours
			older larvae.
Pupa	1 day + H _t	Nighttime	Adult emergence from pupae occurs (6 P.M. to 6 A.M.
			in the simulation).
Immature Adult	53 hours	None
Mate Seeking	-	6 P.M. & Female	Mating is 100% successful and mate is assigned randomly.
Bloodmeal Seeking	-	Meal Success & Nighttime	Females have a 25% chance of finding a host each hour.
			Bloodmeals take less than 1 hour.
Bloodmeal Digesting	36 hours	Nighttime	Agents seek to lay eggs in larval habitats only at night.
Gravid	-	Empty Egg Clutch & Nighttime	Agents complete gonotrophic cycles until death.

The model has an hourly time resolution and many agent behaviours are dependent on the time in state and simulated time of day. H _t is a randomly assigned ‘hatch time’ value described in Equation 1.

ISSN: 1475-2875