Two artificial oviposition sites containing aged alfalfa pellet infusion were exposed to natural populations of Culex quinquefasciatus in San Antonio, Texas, for 3 years. Numbers of egg rafts were counted daily and compared to weather data from a nearby station. Egg rafts were generally most numerous in summer months, declining in fall and increasing in spring. Oviposition occulred in winter on...

Oviposition site-selection in insects is mediated through innate recognition templates (IRTs) tuned to specific chemical cues. These cues aid gravid insects in choosing suitable oviposition sites and may even enhance the fitness of their offspring by warding off predators and parasitoids. However, studies on the evolution of oviposition site-selection and cues instigating oviposition in domesti...

Learning is thought to be adaptive in variable environments, whereas constant, predictable environments are supposed to favor unconditional, genetically fixed responses. A dichotomous view of behavior as either learned or innate ignores a potential evolutionary interaction between the learned and innate components of a behavioral response. We addressed this interaction in the context of oviposi...

Understanding the critical host plant factors that determine oviposition behavior and survival of boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, on cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., is important for developing successful pest management strategies. However, published information is both conßicting and limited regarding how different cotton fruit sizes affect boll weevil oviposition choices and s...

Understanding the critical host plant factors that determine oviposition behavior and survival of boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, on cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., is important for developing successful pest management strategies. However, published information is both conßicting and limited regarding how different cotton fruit sizes affect boll weevil oviposition choices and s...

The beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, undertakes long-distance migration. We used flight mills to investigate the interaction between flight and reproduction in this species given the apparent absence of the oogenesis-flight syndrome. This syndrome, common in many migratory insects, is characterized by a suite of traits including migration during the pre-oviposition period followed by a switch ...

BACKGROUND The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is a vector of dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika viruses. This mosquito inhabits a wide range of artificial water-holding containers in urban and suburban areas making it difficult to control. We tested the hypothesis that female-driven autodissemination of an insect growth regulator could penetrate cryptic oviposition habitats difficult to tre...

BACKGROUND Transgenic Bt rice line T2A-1 expresses a synthesized cry2A gene that shows high resistance to Lepidoptera pests, including Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Plant volatile orientation cues and the physical characteristics of the leaf surface play key roles in host location or host-plant acceptance of phytophagous insects. These volatile compounds and physic...