Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mosquito attractant blends to trap host seeking Aedes aegypti

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Parasitology Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aedes aegypti is the key vector of three important arboviral diseases -dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya. To identify volatile chemicals which could be used in odour based traps for Aedes mosquito surveillance, a few synthetic compounds and compound blends have been evaluated in an indigenously designed olfactometer. A total of 24 compounds and seven compound blends were screened against unfed adult female Ae. aegypti mosquitoes for attraction and compared with control group. The attractancy or repellency index of the test material to mosquitoes was calculated and rated them as class-1, class-2 and class-3 with rating values ranging 1–15, 16–33 and 34–100 respectively. Out of the 24 compounds tested, six were showing significant attractancy (P < 0.05) and among that 1-octene-3-ol showed maximum attractancy with a rating value of 57.81. Sixteen compounds showed significant repellency (P < 0.05) and among that with a rating value of 72.47, 1-hexene-3-ol showed strong repellent action against Ae. aegypti. All the seven blends showed significant mosquito attractancy (P < 0.05) and among that with a rating of 62.08 Myristic acid, Lactic acid and CO2 blend exhibited first-rate mosquito attractancy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acree F Jr, Turner RB, Gouck HK, Beroza M, Smith N (1968) l-Lactic acid: a mosquito attractant isolated from humans. Science 161:1346–1347

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Allan SA, Bernier UR, Kline DL (2006) Attraction of mosquitoes to volatiles associated with blood. J Vect Ecol 31(1):71–78

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ansari MA, Padma V, Mamta T, Razdana RK (2000) Larvicidal and mosquito repellent action of peppermint (Mentha piperita) oil. Biores Technol 71:267–271

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bar-Zeev M, Maibach HI, Khan AA (1977) Studies on the attraction of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) to Man. J Med Entomol 14(1):113–120

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bernier UR, Kline DL, Posey KH, Booth MM, Yost RA, Barnard DR (2003) Synergistic attraction of Aedes aegypti (L) to binary blends of L-lactic acid and acetone, dichloromethane, or dimethyl sulfide. J Med Entomol 40(5):653–656

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beroza M, Green N (1963) Materials tested as insect attractants, Agricultural hand book no. 239, US Dept. of Agriculture, p 1–151.

  • Bosch OJ, Geier M, Boeckh J (2000) Contribution of fatty acids to olfactory host finding of female Aedes aegypti. Chem Senses 26(3):323–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook JI, Majeed S, Ignell R, Pickett JA, Birkett MA, Logan JG (2011) Enantiomeric selectivity in behavioural and electrophysiological responses of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. Bull Entomol Res 101(5):541–550

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cork A, Park KC (1996) Identification of electrophysiologically-active compounds for the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, in human sweat extracts. Med Vet Entomol 10:269–276

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Farrar RR, Kennedy GG (1987) 2-Undecanone, a constituent of the glandular trichomes of Lycopersicon hirsutum f. glabratum: Effects on Heliothis zea and Manduca sexta growth and survival. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 43:17–23

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Focks DA (2003) A review of entomological sampling methods and indicators for dengue vectors. TDR, WHO, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Geier M, Saas H, Boeckh J (1996) A search for components in human body odour that attract females of Aedes aegypti. In: Cardew G, Goode J (eds) Mosquito olfaction and olfactory mediated mosquito-host interactions, Ciba Foundation symposium 200. Wiley, New York, pp 132–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Geier M, Bosch OJ, Boeckh J (1999) Ammonia as an attractive component of host odour for the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Chem Senses 24:647–653

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gillies MT (1980) The role of Carbon dioxide in host finding by mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae): A review. Bull Entmol Res 70:525–532

    Google Scholar 

  • Grieco JP, Achee NL, Chareonviriyaphap T, Suwonkerd W, Chauhan K, Sardelis MR, Roberts DR (2007) A new classification system for the actions of IRS chemicals traditionally used for malaria control. PLoS One 2(1):e716

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gubler DJ (1998) Resurgent vector borne diseases as a global health problem. Emerg Infect Dis 4:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guha L, Seenivasagan T, Bandyopadhyay P, Thanvir Iqbal S, Sathe M, Sharma P, Parashar BD, Kaushik MP (2012) Oviposition and flight orientation response of Aedes aegypti to certain aromatic aryl hydrazono esters. Parasitol Res 111(3):975–982

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hall DR, Beevor PS, Cork A, Nesbitt BF, Vale GA (1984) 1-octen-3-ol, a potent olfactory stimulant and attractant for testse isolated from cattle odours. Insect Sci Appl 5:33–339

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallem EA, Dahanukar A, Carlson JR (2006) Insect odor and taste receptor. Annu Rev Entomol 51:113–135

    Google Scholar 

  • Innocent E, Gikonyo NK, Nkunya MH (2008) Repellency property of long chain aliphatic methyl ketones against Anopheles gambiae s.s. Tanzan J Health Res 10:50–54

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kavita RS, Seenivasagan T, Rao AN, Ganesan K, Agrawal OP, Malhotra RC, Prakash S (2008) Oviposition responses of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus to certain fatty acid esters. Parasitol Res 103(5):1065–1073

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kavita RS, Seenivasagan T, Rao AN, Ganesan K, Agrawal OP, Prakash S (2009) Mediation of oviposition responses in the malaria mosquito Anopheles stephensi Liston by certain fatty acid esters. Parasitol Res 104(2):281–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kellog FE (1970) Water vapor and CO2 receptors in Aedes aegypti (L.). J Insect Physiol 16:99–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khalequzzaman M, Ara H, Zrhura F, Nahar J (2002) Toxic, repellent and attractant properties of some insecticides towards the housefly (Musca domestica L). Online J Biol Sci 2(10):672–676

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kline DL (1994) Olfactory attractants for mosquito surveillance and control: 1-octen-3-ol. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 10:280–287

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kline DL, Bernier UR, Posey KH, Barnard DR (2003) Olfactometric evaluation of spatial repellents for Aedes aegypti. J Med Entomol 40:463–467

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kline DL, Bernier UR, Hogsette JA (2012) Efficacy of Three Attractant Blends Tested in Combination with Carbon Dioxide Against Natural Populations of Mosquitoes and Biting Flies at the Lower Suwannee Wildlife Refuge. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 28(2):123–127

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klocke JA, Darlington MV, Balandrin MF (1987) 1,8-Cineole (eucalyptol), a mosquito feeding and ovipositional repellent from volatile oil of Hemizonia fitchii (Asteracae). J Chem Ecol 13:2131–2141

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knols BGJ, De Jong R (1996) Limburger cheese as an attractant for the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae s. s. Parasitol Today 12:159–161

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meijerink J, Braks MAH, Brack AA, Adam W, Dekker T, Posthumus MA, Van Beek TA, Van Loon JJA (2000) Identification of Olfactory Stimulants for Anopheles gambiae from Human Sweat Samples. J Chem Ecol 26(6):1367–1382

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mukabana WR, Takken W, Coe R, Knols BGJ (2002) Host-specific cues cause differential attractiveness of Kenyan men to the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Malar J 1:17

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muller GC, Junnila A, Kravchenko VD, Revay EE, Butlers J, Schlein Y (2008) Indoor protection against mosquito and sand fly bites: a comparison between citronella, linalool, and geraniol candles. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 24:150–153

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Olanga EA, Okal MN, Mbadi PA, Kokwaro ED, Mukabana WR (2010) Attraction of Anopheles gambiae to odour baits augmented with heat and moisture. Malar J 9:6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pascual-Villalobs MJ, Robledo A (1998) Screening for anti-insect activity in Mediterranean plants. Ind Crop Prod 8:183–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitts RJ, Fox AN, Zwiebel LJ (2004) A highly conserved candidate chemoreceptor expressed in both olfactory and gustatory tissues in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101(14):5058–5063

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reeves WC (1951) Field studies on carbon dioxide as a possible host stimulant to mosquitoes. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 77:64–66

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reeves WC (1953) Quantitative field studies on a carbon dioxide chemotropism of mosquitoes. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2:325–337

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seenivasagan T, Kavita RS, Sekhar K, Ganesan K, Shri P, Vijayaraghavan R (2009) Electroantennogram, flight orientation, and oviposition responses of Aedes aegypti to the oviposition pheromone n-heneicosane. Parasitol Res 104(4):827–833

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smallegange RC, Qiu YT, Loon J, Takken W (2005) Synergism between ammonia, lactic acid and carboxylic acids as kairomones in the host-seeking behaviour of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (Diptera: Culicidae). Chem Senses 30:145–152

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smallegange RC, Schmied WH, van Roey KJ, Verhulst NO, Spitzen J, Mukabana WR, Takken W (2010) Sugar-fermenting yeast as an organic source of carbon dioxide to attract the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Malar J 9:292

    Google Scholar 

  • Steib BM, Geier M, Boeckh J (2001) The effect of lactic acid on odour related host preference of yellow fever mosquitoes. Chem Senses 26:523–528

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Takken W (1991) The role of olfaction in host-seeking of mosquitoes: a review. Insect Sci Appl 12:287–295

    Google Scholar 

  • Takken W (1999) Chemical signals affecting mosquito behavior. Invertebr Reprod Dev 36(1/3):67–71

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Takken W, Kline DL (1989) Carbon dioxide and 1-octen-3-ol as mosquito attractants. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 5:311–316

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Takken W, Knols BG (1999) Odor-mediated behavior of Afrotropical malaria mosquitoes. Annu Rev Entomol 44:131–157

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Trexler JD, Apperson CS, Gemeno C, Perich MJ, Carlson D, Schal C (2003) Field and laboratory evaluations of potential oviposition attractats for Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). J Am Mosq Control 19:228–234

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Willis ER, Roth LM (1952) Reactions of Aedes aegypti (L.) to carbondioxide. J Exp Zool 121:149–179

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr. P. Jambulingam, Director, Vector Control Research Centre, Pondicherry, for critically reviewing the manuscript. The authors thank Miss. K. Twinkle, Mrs. A. Anilakumari, Mr. A. Balakrishnan and Mr. S. Moorthy for their assistance during the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vector Control Research Centre (ICMR), Indira Nagar, Puducherry, 605006, India

    Nisha Mathew, Elango Ayyanar, Sabesan Shanmugavelu & Kalyanasundaram Muthuswamy

Authors
  1. Nisha Mathew
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elango Ayyanar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sabesan Shanmugavelu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kalyanasundaram Muthuswamy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nisha Mathew.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mathew, N., Ayyanar, E., Shanmugavelu, S. et al. Mosquito attractant blends to trap host seeking Aedes aegypti . Parasitol Res 112, 1305–1312 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-012-3266-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-012-3266-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation