Life history components, especially those of the adult stage, were investigated in Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus in the laboratory. Males of Cx. quinquefasciatus had a greater expectation of life at adult eclosion than males of Ae. aegypti. There was no statistically significant difference in the means of life expectancy for females of Ae. aegypti versus those of Cx. quinquefasciatus. In both species, males had a shorter life than females. The two species exhibited considerable heterogeneity for reproductive characters. Females reproducing for the first time were younger in Cx. quinquefasciatus than in Ae. aegypti. Net reproductive rate and the per capita rate of increase were greater in the former than in the latter species. Cx. quinquefasciatus had a shorter generation time than Ae. aegypti. The data reported here are inconsistent to varying degrees when compared with data gathered by other workers from the same species. The results are discussed with reference to the theoretical constructs of the life history theory.
