We lack basic information on ecology and natural history for the overwhelming majority of the 3,719 identified species of mosquitoes, leading to reliance on a few well-studied medically important species to inform us about the habitats of all mosquitoes. This means we are likely overlooking important details about mosquito biology by ignoring other species that may have unique and unusual traits. This reliance has likely led to a dogmatic view of several important traits, including patterns in oviposition across genera. The mosquito Culex antillummagnorum (Dyar), which is widely distributed across the island of Puerto Rico, as well as across several other Caribbean islands, has larvae that can be found in a variety of man-made and natural containers. This species is placed along with five other species in the subgenus Micrades, a group which we know essentially nothing, except their distribution and larval habitats. In this talk I will detail some newly discovered aspects of their ecology that will challenge well-established beliefs about this genera.
