Abstract
Swarming behavior is the cornerstone of the anopheline matingsystem. At dusk, males congregate in monospecific swarms inwhich females come to find a mate once in their lives. Althoughmany Anopheles species coexist in sympatry, hybrids areinfrequent, suggesting the existence of strong prematingreproductive barriers. Chemical cues, particularly pheromones,often play a crucial role in bringing sexes together in a speciesspecificmanner among insects. While the existence of sexualpheromones in Anopheles species has been postulated, only afew studies developed experimental designs to investigate theirpresence. Here, we discuss the contrasting and debatablefindings regarding both long-range and contact sex pheromonesin the context of swarm ecology in Anopheles species.