Two compounds in bed bug feces are sufficient to elicit off-host aggregation by bed bugs,<i>Cimex lectularius</i>

Olson, Joelle F.; Vers, Leonard M Ver; Moon, Roger D.; Kells, Stephen A.

doi:10.1002/ps.4286

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(63 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The difficulty of eradication can largely be assigned to pesticide resistance (Dang et al 2017 ; Davies et al 2012 ) and a cryptic and nocturnal lifestyle of the bed bugs (Reinhardt and Siva-Jothy 2007 ). This has caused an increased focus on developing control strategies and promoted the use of integrated pest management (IPM), where new and partly experimental tools such as trapping (Olson et al 2017 ; Singh et al 2013 ; 2015 ), steam treatment (Loudon 2017 ; Puckett et al 2012 ) and desiccant dusts (Aak et al 2016 ; Akhtar and Isman 2016 ; Benoit et al 2009 ; Singh et al 2016 ; Wang et al 2013 ) can supplement more conventional approaches (Doggett et al 2012 ; Koganemaru and Miller 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insect pathogenic fungi and bed bugs: behaviour, horizontal transfer and the potential contribution to IPM solutions

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The increasing problem of bed bugs requires the development of new control strategies, and insect pathogenic fungi can contribute towards management. We used laboratory bioassays with Isaria fumosoroseus, Lecanicillium muscarium and Beauveria bassiana to evaluate their virulence to the bed bug. Only B. bassiana significantly affected bed bug survival and was dependent on dose and formulation. A 2% B. bassiana oil formulation induced horizontal transfer to elevate mortality in a 10-day arena bioassay. Temporal distribution of contagious individuals and increasing the dose from 2 to 4% did not increase mortality. Horizontal transfer mainly occurred between adults, and only partly between adults and nymphs. Bed bugs showed activity peaks during the night, and activity was increased by elevated levels of CO2. Distribution between harbourages was not affected by CO2 activation, level of infection or the bio-pesticide, and horizontal transfer was not dependent on the degree of aggregation. Movement in the arenas negatively affected horizontal transfer when the number of susceptible individuals was large. Level of infection also influenced behaviour as the bed bug movement increased with elevated disease burden. The use of fungi as a part of an integrated pest management strategy seems to be an interesting option that should be investigated further. B. bassiana kills bed bugs and can be carried to harbourages to target hidden individuals.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insect pathogenic fungi and bed bugs: behaviour, horizontal transfer and the potential contribution to IPM solutions

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Since the behavioural and electrophysiological characterisation of the bed bug alarm pheromone 27 , there have been only a few studies in bed bug chemical ecology that have utilised EAG and only a single study that has utilized GC-EAG 26 . In the current study, when a volatile extract, collected from bed bug-exposed papers by air entrainment, was tested by EAG, bed bugs showed a response that was significantly different from the response to controls.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As insect antennae have olfactory sensilla, recordings can be made from these sensory organs by electroantennography (EAG) and coupled gas chromatography-EAG (GC-EAG) can be used to screen volatile extracts for potential semiochemicals. Olson et al 26 used GC-EAG to identify electrophysiologically-active regions within the GC trace of a bed bug faecal extract and identified non-volatile nitrogenous compounds as putative arrestment semiochemicals. These researchers removed the antennal flagellum to stabilize the EAG signal.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This terminal segment of the bed bug antenna was shown to contain the majority of the olfactory sensilla [27][28][29] , therefore, the study responses observed were likely due to gustatory and contact chemosensilla. The focus of Olson et al 26 was arrestment in the refuge, which was demonstrated to be reliant on the presence of the pedicel through gustatory and olfactory stimuli 19 . Although Olson et al 26 demonstrated contact chemoreception and arrestment due to the synthetic blend equivalent of their solvent extract of bed bug-exposed papers, they did not demonstrate olfaction and attraction due to volatile aggregation cues as the bed bugs were able to contact the source of the odour.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Electrophysiologically and behaviourally active semiochemicals identified from bed bug refuge substrate

Weeks¹,

Logan²,

Birkett³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bed bugs are pests of public health importance due to their relentless biting habits that can lead to allergies, secondary infections and mental health issues. When not feeding on human blood bed bugs aggregate in refuges close to human hosts. This aggregation behaviour could be exploited to lure bed bugs into traps for surveillance, treatment efficacy monitoring and mass trapping efforts, if the responsible cues are identified. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify the bed bug aggregation pheromone. Volatile chemicals were collected from bed bug-exposed papers, which are known to induce aggregation behaviour, by air entrainment. This extract was tested for behavioural and electrophysiological activity using a still-air olfactometer and electroantennography, respectively. Coupled gas chromatography-electroantennography (GC-EAG) was used to screen the extract and the GC-EAG-active chemicals, benzaldehyde, hexanal, (E)-2-octenal, octanal, nonanal, decanal, heptanal, (R,S)-1-octen-3-ol, 3-carene, β-phellandrene, (3E,5E)-octadien-2-one, (E)-2-nonenal, 2-decanone, dodecane, nonanoic acid, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl acetate, (E)-2-undecanal and (S)-germacrene D, were identified by GC-mass spectrometry and quantified by GC. Synthetic blends, comprising 6, 16, and 18 compounds, at natural ratios, were then tested in the still-air olfactometer to determine behavioural activity. These aggregation chemicals can be manufactured into a lure that could be used to improve bed bug management.

show abstract

“…Volatile chemicals allow bed bugs to locate human hosts (Anderson, Ferrandino, McKnight, Nolen, & Miller, ) and conspecifics (Weeks, Logan, Birkett, Pickett, & Cameron, ). Both male and female bed bugs are drawn to bed bug harborages by volatile aggregation pheromones from accumulated exuviae (molted exoskeletons) and feces, and bed bugs stop moving when they contact close‐range arrestment pheromones (Gries et al, ; Olson, Vers, Moon, & Kells, ). Weeks et al () found an interaction between the effect of sex and feeding status on bed bug odor attraction: starved males were more likely to respond to aggregation pheromones than fed males, yet fed females exhibited the strongest response to odor cues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunities for female choice in the bed bug Cimex lectularius

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bed bugs are cited as exemplars of sexual conflict because mating can only occur via traumatic insemination. However, past antagonistic coevolution between the sexes does not necessarily preclude current female choice. Here, we investigate opportunities for precopulatory female choice in bed bugs. We examined whether females seek out mating opportunities when they gain the most benefit: when females are virgin and/or have recently fed. But, we found that female mating and feeding status had little effect on female attraction to males and male odor. To determine whether females approach male harborages (home crevices) to seek matings in nature, we investigated where matings occurred among unfamiliar pairs of bed bugs. We found that, despite female attraction to male odor, matings were most likely to take place in the female's harborage rather than the male's harborage. We also examined the effect of feeding on male and female ability to mate. Whereas previous research reported that engorgement impaired female ability to refuse matings, we found that male feeding status had a larger effect on the success of mating encounters than female feeding status. Fed males had poor mating success, suggesting that males may be faced with a trade‐off between mating and feeding.

show abstract

Two compounds in bed bug feces are sufficient to elicit off-host aggregation by bed bugs,Cimex lectularius

Cited by 14 publications

References 36 publications

Insect pathogenic fungi and bed bugs: behaviour, horizontal transfer and the potential contribution to IPM solutions

Insect pathogenic fungi and bed bugs: behaviour, horizontal transfer and the potential contribution to IPM solutions

Electrophysiologically and behaviourally active semiochemicals identified from bed bug refuge substrate

Opportunities for female choice in the bed bug Cimex lectularius

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About