Anautogeny

thumb|A female Anopheles|Anopheles minimus mosquito obtaining a blood meal from a human host to support its anautogenous reproduction In entomology, anautogeny is a reproductive strategy in which an adult female insect must eat a particular sort of meal (generally vertebrate blood) before laying eggs in order for her eggs to mature. This behavior is most common among dipteran flies, such as mosquitoes. Anautogenous animals often serve as vectors for infectious disease in their hosts because of their contact with hosts' blood. The opposite trait (needing no special food as an adult to successfully reproduce) is known as autogeny.

==Factors governing anautogeny== Anautogenous insects generally reach adulthood without sufficient reserves of nutrients (particularly protein) to produce viable eggs, necessitating additional feeding as adults. A high-protein meal, usually of blood, allows the production of yolk to nourish the eggs and makes reproduction possible. This blood is typically obtained through ectoparasitism on large vertebrates.