Ovipositional responses of Culex tarsalis to semiochemicals produced from aquatic taxa in different guilds

Monday, November 11, 2013: 10:24 AM
Meeting Room 18 A (Austin Convention Center)
Adena Why , Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA
William E. Walton , Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA
To date no work has been done looking at the ovipositional responses of female Culex tarsalis to semiochemicals produced by aquatic organisms in different guilds.  The relationship between semiochemicals produced by predaceous insects, algivorous fish and predatory/larvivorous fish 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 and predatory aquatic insect 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 predation.