**1. Introduction**

Mosquitoes in the family Culicidae are responsible for the transmission of viruses and other pathogens to man and animals. Arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus *Aedes* (Meigen) (Diptera: Culicidae) promote the occurrence of diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya fever, yellow fever and zika fever at alarming levels and have impacted public health in several countries, mainly Brazil [1, 2].

In Brazil, there is an outbreak of wild yellow fever [3] due to virus transmission, which should be kept in the wild, between non-human primates and arboreal wild mosquitoes, mainly of the genera *Haemagogus* (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Culicidae) and *Sabethes* (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Culicidae). The possibility of a change in the ongoing yellow fever transmission cycle has been realized. To date, it has not been proven that the yellow fever mosquito *Aedes aegypti* (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquito is involved in transmission, but evidence has emerged from different studies [3].

With the exception of yellow fever and dengue, zika and chikungunya do not have specific vaccines or treatments. For this reason, the use of insecticides and chemical control constitutes the main insect vector control tools in urban areas. However, this practice has been disseminated and performed irresponsibly, resulting in actions that caused resistance to these insecticides. In this respect, new forms of control are desirable, especially with multifunctional products [3].

In Brazil, *Ae. aegypti* is found in more than 70% of the 5561 Brazilian municipalities. Most of these areas have a reduced number of health agents who, for different reasons, do not cover 80% of cities' urban areas. Thus, the country is left exposed to constant threats of outbreaks and epidemics. Thereby, it is necessary to develop new products, methodologies or even a combination of methods to control *Aedes* spp., populations. These methods should take into account effective surveillance and control, and be of a low cost and easy applicability. Additionally, efforts to improve infrastructure, population education, and training of health workers to combat and control the insect should be intensified. To this end, a better understanding of the different aspects of Culicidae biology and diversity, their relationships with humans and animals, and their reproduction in urban areas are important factors in assessing the adequacy of methodologies used for the selection and implementation of control methods, the development of new insecticides or the creation of new strategies that consider behavioral and adaptive aspects. However, information, techniques and/or scientific knowledge are still restricted to the majority of the population or have limited practical applications. It is up to the universities, research centers and zoonotic control agencies to obtain them and use the contents for discussion or establishment of new proposals and strategies of vector population control.

In this context, it is very useful to present a review of breeding sites, habits and behaviors of the *Aedes* species to understand the situations, conditions and/ or details of the microenvironments, and reproduction at breeding sites, whether natural or artificial. Thus, this chapter is based on the collection and analysis of information available in the literature, or the authors' scientific experience, about the physicochemical and biological conditions of breeding sites and mosquito habits and behaviors. Considering these important findings will crucially enable the elaboration of strategies that control insect vector populations.
