Oviposition pheromones in haematophagous insects

Pheromones influencing oviposition behavior in females of haematophagous insects have been the interest of recent past by many group of scientists working on oviposition pheromones. Finding and choosing a good site for oviposition is a challenging task for females of haematophagous insects, especially in those insects which does not have the parental care. Their decisions have far-reaching and profound consequences for the life history of the offspring. In such blood feeding insects, the choice of oviposition site is affected by pheromones, which may function either as deterrents or stimulants in short range, while they may also act as repellents or attractants in long range perception. During the location of a suitable oviposition site for egg laying or a potential host for blood feeding, haematophagous insects mainly use olfactory and visual cues. These pheromones are produced by the ovipositing female or by conspecific larvae co-occurring with gravid females. Adult females detect oviposition pheromones by odor receptors on the antennae, as well as by contact chemoreceptors on tarsi, mouthparts and antennae. Different cues exploited by gravid females from a diversified arena include egg, larva, habitat, microbes, infusions and plant produced volatiles influence the oviposition behavior. Traps baited with pheromones, infusions, and insecticides shall be promising tools for monitoring and control of target insect using integrated vector management strategies.