[The reproductive history of female blood-sucking mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae)]

The author classifies current data on the morphology and function of normal and abnormal mosquito ovarioles, obtained with the use of intraovarian oil injections. A combined method for analysis of the female reproductive history is described, that helps elucidate the female reproductive age (the number of ovipositions), the initial fecundity (the number of normal and abnormal ovarioles), the potential fecundity in each gonotrophic cycle (the number of ovarioles with functional germarium), the total potential fecundity (the sum of potential fecundity values in each gonotrophic cycle), the actual fecundity (the number of eggs laid by females) in each gonotrophic cycle, and the total actual fecundity (the number of eggs laid over the female life). The method consists of 3 steps: (1) obtaining of an ovarian preparation, making use of an intraovarian oil injection, that permits a detailed study of every ovariole; (2) inventory of all the ovarioles in the ovary (3 methods are offered for the purpose); (3) quantitative analysis of female reproductive history. The general rule for determination of the reproductive age is as follows: every dilatation, the vestigial ones included, and every granulated site of an egg sac correspond to one reproductive cycle in a normal ovariole. Their sum in an ovariole represents the value of the female reproductive age. The number of the eggs developing in each ovariole corresponds to the number of granulated sites of the egg sac. The potential fecundity may reduce from cycle to cycle, because some ovarioles may become sterile.