Abstract
Specific distinctness was evaluated by laboratory hybridization between members of the Anopheles hyrcanus sibling species group distributed in East Asia. The following 7 members of the species group, including vectors of malaria or filariasis, were dealt with : An. sinensis and An. lesteri of Japan; An. argyropus and An. nitidus of Malaysia; and An. nigerrimus, An. crawfordi, and An. peditaeniatus of Indonesia. They were reproductively isolated from each other due to zygotic mortality or hybrid sterility. The results provided evidence indicating substantial specific differentiation among the 7 members of this group. The cross between An. crawfordi and An. lesteri as well as between An. nigerrimus and An. nitidus gave sterile F_1 hybrids. Males of the F_1 hybrid between An. lesteri and An. crawfordi were crossed with females of the parental species, which laid unhatched eggs. This indicates the possibility that the hybrid males will be utilized for genetic control of their parental species.
