There are 41 genera of mosquitoes, containing approximately 3,500 species.
Human malaria is transmitted only by females of the genus Anopheles. Of the approximately 430 Anopheles species, while over 100 are known to be able to transmit malaria to humans only 30-40 commonly do so in nature. Mosquitoes in other genera can transmit different diseases, such as yellow fever and dengue for species in the genus Aedes.
Since breeding and biting habit differ considerably between species, species identification is important for control programmes.