Vector Anopheles funestus is an efficient vector of the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria in humans. This is because of its endophilic and anthropophilic characteristics, and because the adult insect is relatively long-lived. Insecticide resistance This is a highly adaptable species and many populations have developed resistance to pyrethroid insecticides, resulting in an upsurge of malarial infections in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s. A. funestus has widespread resistance to DDT and pyrethroids in Southern and West Africa, and in the Tororo District of Uganda in the east of the continent. The Tororo population was, however, entirely susceptible to bendiocarb, malathion, and dieldrin. References funestus Diptera of Africa Insects described in 1900 Insect vectors of human pathogens