Malaria is a mosquito-vectored infectious disease, which causes serious human health problemsrnin many endemic areas. The dominant malaria vectors in sub-Saharan countries are Anophelesrngambiae, Anopheles coluzzii, Anopheles funestus and Anopheles arabiensis. Of these, An.rnarabiensis is the most widely distributed, versatile and opportunistic vector. The distribution ofrnthis vector is frequently correlated with a preference for larval habitats associated with naturalrnand domesticated grasses (Poaceae). Over the past ten thousand years, humans have successfullyrncultivated grasses and altered the landscape, creating An. arabiensis favourable environmentsrnthat contain excellent habitats for both larvae and adults. This may indicate that a pre-existingrnadaptation or preference by An. arabiensis for grass habitats may have co-evolved with humanrnagriculture; to create highly suitable conditions for both the vector and malaria transmission.rnThe distribution and dispersal of An. arabiensis among various larval habitats is mainly drivenrnby the choice of the gravid mosquito for an egg-laying site. To maximise the fitness of theirrnoffspring, female mosquitoes should carefully search for habitats with high nutriment, minimalrncompetition and reduced risk of predation. Selection of oviposition site impacts on the survivalrnand development stages of the immature mosquitoes, since larvae are minimally mobile andrnmature without parental care. The larval habitats also affect adult density, distribution andrnvectorial capacity. Several cues from the breeding site, such as visual, tactile and olfactoryrnsignals, assist gravid mosquitoes to select a suitable oviposition site. Among these, the olfactoryrncues play a major role in the breeding site selection process, similar to that which has beenrndocumented for in other fitness-related activities, such as blood host seeking and sugar feeding.rnxviirnHowever, few studies have documented the odour-mediated oviposition behaviour of malariarnvector mosquitoes.rnThe present studies investigated the effect of olfactory cues emanating from breeding sitesrnassociated with the domesticated grasses, rice, maize and sugarcane, on the ovipositionrnpreference of An. arabiensis. The volatile compounds associated with the plants and pollen ofrnthese grasses were collected by headspace volatile collection, from the above-ground plantrntissues of two cultivars of rice (MR1 and MR2), and the pollen of two cultivars of both maizern(Bako hybrid-660 and Melkassa 2-521) and sugarcane (Coll-48 and EAK 71-402). Behaviouralrnresponses of gravid An. arabiensis to the collected headspace volatile extracts were tested underrnlaboratory conditions, using a two-port olfactometer and a two-choice oviposition bioassay.rnHeadspace volatiles from both cultivars of rice plants as well as maize and sugarcane pollenrnattracted gravid An. arabiensis and stimulated oviposition. However, the response of thernmosquitoes to the volatiles of each crop differed, indicating that females prefer the volatilernprofiles of specific cultivars. Through combined gas chromatography and electroantennographicrndetection (GC-EAD) analyses of the headspace volatiles extracts of MR3 rice, BH-660 pollenrnand sugarcane pollen revealed eight, five and seventeen bioactive compounds, respectively.rnThese compounds were identified using combined gas chromatography and mass spectrometriesrn(GC-MS), revealing that only Î±-pinene and nonanal were shared among each cereal. Syntheticrnblends of MR3 rice, BH-660 pollen and sugarcane pollen odour elicited significant attraction andrnoviposition stimulation of gravid An. arabiensis. Subtractive blends were inferior to that of thernfull synthetic blends. The synthetic blend of MR3 rice was also tested under semi-fieldrnxviiirnconditions showing gravid An. arabiensis are significantly attracted to the full blend whenrncompared to a solvent control.rnThe results show that gravid An. arabiensis prefer oviposition sites associated with domesticatedrngrasses and that this selection is driven by olfactory cues. Synthetic blends were demonstrated tornelicit the complete behavioural repertoire of gravid An. arabiensis mosquitoes. The syntheticrnblends identified in the present studies are novel for malaria vectors and show great potential tornbe integrated with other components of Integrated Vector Management (IVM).rnKey words: An. arabiensis, attraction, stimulation, cultivars, gravid, oviposition