Field studies on the potential of butanone, carbon dioxide, honey extract, l‐octen‐3‐ol, L‐lactic acid and phenols as attractants for mosquitoes*

Abstract

Various combinations of six candidate attractants--butanone, carbon dioxide (CO2), honey, octenol, lactic acid and mixed phenols--were tested against natural populations of mosquitoes in Everglades National Park, Florida, U.S.A., using unlighted CDC-baited traps. With few exceptions, the attractancy of these candidate compounds to mosquitoes, when used alone, was less than that of CO2 alone. The exceptions were that octenol and honey extract alone attracted larger numbers of Coquillettidia perturbans (Walker). Addition of lactic acid and/or octenol to CO2 increased trap collections of Aedes taeniorhynchus (Wiedemann), Anopheles atropos D. & K., and An. crucians Wiedemann by 1.4-13.8 times. Culex nigripalpus Theobald collections were increased 2.7 times by the addition of lactic acid, while the addition of octenol produced mixed results. Whereas the addition of lactic acid reduced collections of Cx (Melanoconion) spp., the addition of octenol generally increased collections. The opposite happened for Wyeomyia mitchellii (Theobald). For the biting midge, Culicoides furens (poey), octenol (1.6-23.4 x ) and phenol (2.7 x ) alone attracted larger numbers, and lactic acid alone attracted approximately the same numbers as CO2 alone. The combinations octenol + phenol and octenol + 200 ml/min CO2 increased C. furens collections c. 100 times over CO2 alone. The combination of octenol + CO2 increased (1.6 x ) collections of the tabanid Diachlorus ferrugatus (Fabricius). Butanone appeared to decrease the trap collections of all species when combined with CO2 or octenol + CO2.

Olfaction in vector-host interactions

“…The emphasis has been on kairomones associated with humans and livestock including mammalian-associated volatiles such as CO 2 , 1-octen-3-ol and acetone from the breath, and a mix of body odours (Bhasin et al 2001. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) was first shown by Nelson (1965) to be an attractant for members of the C. variipennis complex and, more recently, 1-octen-3-ol has been used to trap C. furens (Kline et al 1990, Takken and. Carbon dioxide has a particularly important role in the attraction of haematophagous Diptera to their hosts ).…”

Sampling Adults by Animal Bait Catches and by Animal-Baited Traps

“…In trials in Brazil octenol did not attract Lutzomyia sandflies (R. D. Ward, pers. comm., 1989), but Kline et al (1990) have recently shown that when combined with carbon dioxide octenol appears to be attractive to mosquitoes (see pp. 350-1).…”

“…Takken & Kline (1989) reported for the first time from field experiments that octenol had potential as a mosquito attractant. Later Kline et al (1990) conducted field trials in Florida with unlit CDC-type light-traps baited with various combinations of attractants including:…”

Are light traps baited with kairomones effective in the capture of Lutzomyia longipalpis and Lutzomyia intermedia? An evaluation of synthetic human odor as an attractant for phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)

“…To date, there is no evidence supporting the trapping of phlebotomine sand flies with this kairomone. Lactic acid was the first kairomone identified from human skin (Acree et al 1968), and its effect in attracting mosquitoes has been evaluated, especially in combination with CO 2 (Kline et al 1990, Eiras & Jepson 1991, ammonia and some fatty acids (Geier et al 1999). Ammonia was identified from vertebrate odors in the 1970s (Larson et al 1979) and has been shown to be an effective attractant for mosquitoes (Geier et al 1999) and tabanids (Hribar et al 1992).…”

“…Knudsen et al (1979) demonstrated for the first time the attractiveness of CO 2 (released from dry ice) to phlebotomine sand flies. Light traps (LT) baited with CO 2 enhanced the capture of phlebotomine sand flies in the field (Chaniots 1983), despite the fact that attraction to CO 2 was not observed in the laboratory (Nigam & Ward 1991).The chemical 1-octen-3-ol (octenol) is an important kairomone used by zoophilic dipteran species of the families Muscidae, Tabanidae, Ceratopogonidae and Culicidae to seek their hosts (Kline at al. 1990, Gibson & Torr 1999, Bernier et al 2000, Eiras 2001).…”