Olfactory cues for oviposition behavior in Toxorhynchites moctezuma and Toxorhynchites amboinensis (Diptera: Culicidae)
Collins, L.E.; Blackwell, A.
Journal of Medical Entomology 39(1): 121-126
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-2585 PMID: 11931244 DOI: 10.1603/0022-2585-39.1.121
Accession: 003868829
In laboratory tests gravid female Toxorhynchites moctezuma (Dyar & Knab) and Toxorhynchites amboinensis (Doleschall) were offered the choice of black oviposition jars containing a diethyl ether extract of water collected from a natural oviposition site for these species (i.e., used tires), a dilution series of 4-methylcyclohexanol, 3-methylindole, 2-methylphenol, 3-methylphenol and 4-methylphenol, or solvent. Tire water extract and all test compounds acted as oviposition attractants and stimulants for both species, with the threshold amounts required to elicit these behaviors varying between the species and among the compounds tested.