Abstract
Volatiles from various life-stages of the bont ticks Amblyomma variegatum and A. hebraeum were collected by using solid-phase microfibers and charcoal traps. An octenol isomer was found to be a major constituent of most of the tick material sampled and was identified as 1-octen-3-ol by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and by using antenna of the tsetse fly Glossina brevipalpis in gas chromatography-linked antennogram detection. Release of this compound increased during molt to adulthood and following mechanical disturbance of adult ticks. (R)-(−)-1-Octen-3-ol and racemate 1-octen-3-ol both induce an increase in upwind walk to the odor source from A. variegatum in an airstream on a servosphere. Volatiles from tick exuviae plus feces and from dead ticks also attracted A. variegatum, suggesting that 1-octen-3-ol may contribute to the aggregation response of Amblyomma spp. on such substrates. 2,6-Dichloroanisol and 2,5-dimethylpyrazine also were detected in volatiles from the ticks but induced no behavioral responses on the servosphere. The suspected tick pheromone component, 2,6-dichlorophenol, was detected from A. variegatum adults cut into pieces but had no effect on the behavior of A. variegatum on the servosphere at a range of doses.
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McMahon, C., Guerin, P.M. & Syed, Z. 1-Octen-3-Ol Isolated from Bont Ticks Attracts Amblyomma variegatum. J Chem Ecol 27, 471–486 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010328720035
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010328720035