Chemical ecology and behavioral aspects of mosquito oviposition.

Location and selection of an oviposition site is an essential part of the life history of all mosquito species. The remarkable number of oviposition be­ haviors range from the common, e.g. deposition of eggs on or near the water surface, to the unusual, e.g. egg brooding by adult females (73, 74). The initiation of an ovipositional flight is linked with environmental factors, especially rainfall, relative humidity, temperature, and wind speed. The location and selection of an oviposition site involves visual, olfactory, and tactile responses. Since pathogen acquisition by vector mosquitoes usually requires the taking of at least one blood meal, disease transmission usually requires the comple­ tion of at least one oviposition cycle before pathogen transfer can occur with a subsequent blood meal. Oviposition is thus an important component of most mosquito-borne diseases. A tremendous amount has been written concerning mosquito oviposition. A large proportion of the studies have dealt with laboratory investigations on mosquito response to chemical and physical aspects of the oviposition site; relatively few field studies have been attempted. In this review we discuss general aspects of mosquito oviposition in nature, as well as the interplay