Swarming and mating of some California mosquitoes.

Among mosquitoes in California there are degrees of ♂ swarming, usually associated with mating. Swarming behavior is absent in Culiseta inornata , is a crepuscular activity in Aedes nigromaculis and A. melanimon , and is a continual diurnal activity in A. ventrovittis . Mating behavior varies among these 3 groups. In C. inornata mating occurred immediately or soon after ♀ emergence, and mating pairs remained in copulo for several hours. Sperm transfer required a relatively long time. In the Aedes species copulation and insemination took place in a very few seconds. Most mating occurred in vegetation. Flying and biting of Aedes ♀♀ coincided with ♂ swarming and most insemination occurred during this period. In all species, mating almost always preceded the taking of a blood meal.