Ovipositional responses of mosquitoes to kairomones produced from aquatic taxa in different guilds

To date no work has been done looking at the ovipositional responses of female Culex tarsalis to kairomones produced by aquatic organisms in different guilds, specifically, predaceous insects, algivorous fish and predatory/larvivorous fish. The relationship between karimones, produced by predatory insects, and their role in oviposition deterrence have only recently begun to be investigated. Previous experiments have shown that female mosquitoes avoid ovipositing in water that contains fish exudates and will instead choose to oviposit in control cups in binary choice trials. Culex tarsalis can experience a high risk of fish predation, in the larval stage, in their natural habitats and females are believed to have evolved behaviors that reduce these risks by avoiding ovipositing in areas where their offspring would be more prone to fish predation. duce these risks by avoiding ovipositing in areas where their offspring would be more prone to fish predation.