Oviposition is a major event in the life history of mosquitoes, shaping both individual fitness and vectorial capacity. Several exogenous factors have been shown as important for the dynamic forcing of oviposition at finely (hourly) and coarsely (monthly or season to season) grained temporal scales. However, field studies addressing the interplay of weather factors on oviposition dynamics at th...

IntraspeciÞc geographic variation in morphology and behavior can be indicative of populations that are adapted to local environmental conditions. Heterogeneity in the abiotic environment, such as soil conditions, can be an important driver of local adaptation. In southFlorida,mean body sizes in populations of the lubber grasshopper Romalea microptera (Beauvois) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), increase...

1. Transection of the ventral nerve cord of female grasshoppers activates the rhythmical motor programme for oviposition digging. 2. Electrical stimulation of the cut nerve cord had the following effects on elicited oviposition motor activity: (i) shortand long-lasting inhibition of activity, (ii) phase resetting and (iii) modulation of burst frequency. 3. Cold saline applied to the nerve cord ...

Females of the harvestman Bourguyia albiornata oviposit almost exclusively inside the tube formed by the curled leaves of the bromeliad Aechmea nudicaulis. Oviposition is not correlated with rainfall or with temperature, but is negatively correlated with the number of individuals of A. nudicaulis emitting  owers. Because the in orescence stalk occupies the tube of leaves of  owering bromelia...

Mallada basalis (Walker) has the potential to be a valuable biological control agent because of its predatory abilities, strong reproductive capacity, and broad prey range. This study aimed to improve on a previously used artificial diet for M. basalis, to achieve a longer oviposition period and greater survival rate and fecundity. We analyzed the development, survival, longevity, and reproduct...

The preference-performance hypothesis predicts that female insects maximize their fitness by utilizing host plants which are associated with high larval performance. Still, studies with several insect species have failed to find a positive correlation between oviposition preference and larval performance. In the present study, we experimentally investigated the relationship between oviposition ...

Abstract: We investigated the role of floral odors from cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.), in mediating oviposition of the bean pod borer moth, Maruca vitrata, a serious pest of grain legumes that flies to host plants at the flowering stage and oviposits onto flowers and buds. The flower of the host plant V. unguiculata was a stimulus for egg-laying by M. vitrata in an oviposition bioassay. Commer...