Abstract/Summary

Culex mosquitoes are especially evasive of predators when ovipositing. Black pond dyes are known to profoundly attract their oviposition and this study looked at the combination of predator presence and pond dye. Our results indicate that predatory impacts of cyclopoid copepods are unaffected by the presence of pond dye. Their use in synergy with dye may facilitate population sinks characterized by high rates of oviposition coupled with high predation rates. This may increase the vulnerability of mosquitoes to predation at the landscape level and is pertinent given that oviposition site selectivity is currently the greatest hindrance to effective larval mosquito control.