PARA-CRESOL - OVIPOSITION ATTRACTANT OF AEDES-TRISERIATUS (DIPTERA, CULICIDAE)

Aqueous infusions of decayed paper birch, Betula papyrifera (Marsh), are shown to contain an oviposition attractant for the tree-hole mosquito Aedes triseriatus (Say) in laboratory experiments. The attractive material is proved to be volatile and soluble in pentane. p-Cresol is shown to be an active component of this extract. Further experiments demonstrate that contact of ovipositing mosquitoes with p-cresol odor alone suffices to induce significantly increased oviposition. Trapping experiments show that p-cresol solutions attract significantly more mosquitoes, both male and female, than does distilled water alone. © 1979 Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved.