Olfactory cues for oviposition behavior in Toxorhynchites moctezuma and Toxorhynchites amboinensis (Diptera: Culicidae).

In laboratory tests gravid female Toxorhynchites moctezuma (Dyar & Knab) and Toxorhynchites amboinensis (Doleschall) were offered the choice of black oviposition jars containing a diethyl ether extract of water collected from a natural oviposition site for these species (i.e., used tires), a dilution series of 4-methylcyclohexanol, 3-methylindole, 2-methylphenol, 3-methylphenol and 4-methylphenol, or solvent. Tire water extract and all test compounds acted as oviposition attractants and stimulants for both species, with the threshold amounts required to elicit these behaviors varying between the species and among the compounds tested.