Ethimology of Anopheles

From the  Greek “An” (not) + “ophelos”  (benefit), a genus of mosquitoes, many species of which are vectors of malaria.

Anopheles was first described by German Entomologist Wilhelm Meigen in 1818.

Although some sources translate Anopheles as “harmful” it would be decades before Ronald Ross showed in 1897 that these mosquitoes transmit malaria parasites, and Meigen was most likely using Anopheles in a more literal interpretation as “useless”.

That said the connotation of “harmful” was prophetic in describing a mosquito that, even today, is indirectly responsible for 1 million deaths per year.

Font: Emerging Infectious Diseases .

Vol. 18. No.9. September 2012.