We surveyed the larval habitats of members of the Anopheles punctulatus group of mosquitoeson Niolam (Lihir) Island, Papua New Guinea. Identification of this group was undertaken by polymerase chainreaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the amplified internal transcribed spacer unit 2of rDNA, because morphologic separation of member species is unreliable. The most widespread malaria vectorspecies and their most common larval habitats were identified to aid source-reduction programs for malariacontrol. The most ubiquitous species was An. punctulatus, followed by An. farauti no. 2. then An. .farauti s.s.Anopheles punctulatus has increased relative to An. farauti s.l. since the start of development projects on LihirIsland. The most common larval habitats were shallow temporary pools with clay substrate and with plants orfloatage. These habitats, mostly encountered alongside poorly drained roads, may be increased by developmentprojects.
