Choice of oviposition site between surface of the medium and paper positioned vertically on the medium by females was studied in four species of Drosophila: D. ananassae, D. bipectinata, D. malerkotliana, and D. biarmipes. Several geographic strains of these species were used. Females of all the four species laid greater proportions of eggs on the surface of medium as compared to surface of the...

Reduction of aquatic habitats through environmental management mitigates malaria transmission not only by reducing emergence of host-seeking mosquitoes, but also by increasing the amount of time required for vectors to locate oviposition sites. However, the consequence of source reduction on mosquito oviposition has largely been neglected in evaluations of environment-management programs. Here,...

Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) has been produced in the laboratory for> 160 generations on the larvae of oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), the propagation hosts raised routinely on a semi-synthetic wheat diet formulation. Choice tests using modified stinging units were conducted in the laboratory to investigate whether insectary rearing had altered the host seeking and o...

1. Although theory predicts a positive relationship between oviposition preferences and the developmental performance of offspring, the strength of this relationship may depend not only on breeding site quality, but also on the complex interactions between environmental heterogeneity and density-dependent processes. Environmental heterogeneity may not only alter the strength of density dependen...

We propose a patch type model for mosquitoes that have aquatic larvae inhabiting ponds. Partial differential equations (PDEs) model the larvae on each of several disconnected patches representing the ponds, with conditions varying in each patch, coupled via the adults in the air. From the PDEs a scalar delay differential equation, with multiple delays, for the total adult mosquito population is...

Several behavioural circadian rhythms have been described in Oncopeltus fasciatus, including daily cycles of mating, feeding, oviposition, flight, and general locomotor activity (Caldwell & Dingle, 1967; Dingle, 1968; Caldwell & Rankin, 1971). This insect is known to be migrant, and the temporal segregation of daily activities brought about by this temporal organization is adaptive in relation ...

The impact of plant defenses on insect herbivores is widely accepted, but their relative effects on oviposition choice, survival, and larval growth in preventing pest damage, especially for invasive insects, is not fully understood. Here, we examined the potential for plant defenses to reduce the economic and environmental impacts of an invasive herbivore, the viburnum leaf beetle, VLB (Pyrrhal...

High titen of antibodies agaiast Anopheles gambiae midguts were produced in New Znaland rabbits to identiff midgut targets for an antimosquito vaccine. The serum from one of 8 rabbits (designated R2B6) killed 71.60lo (Abbott's adjusted % mortality\ of An. gambiaewithtnT days. Mosquitoes ingesting R2B6 serum were unable to absorb their blood meal nutrients, resulting in reduced oviposition and e...

Ecosystem changes caused by anthropogenic activities have modified the environment in ways that at times promote the emergence of vector-borne diseases. Here, we study the effects of combined sewage overflows (CSOs) from urban streams in Atlanta, GA, on oviposition site selection by Culex quinquefasciatus under seminatural field conditions. Counting egg rafts was a reliable indicator of oviposi...

From March 2002 to January 2004, a colony of southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), was kept in the laboratory, and its oviposition behavior was observed. During oviposition, soon after the egg is expelled, the female touches the egg mass with the dorsal surface of the last tarsomere; this movement of one leg of the hind pair occurred once. This small component of the oviposition behav...