Identification of floral volatiles and their effect on Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus

SANTIAGO VON OPPEN; HÉCTOR M. MASUH; SUSANA LICASTRO; PAOLA A. GONZÁLEZ AUDINO

Los Angeles

Congreso; 21st Latin American Symposium at the 77th AMCA Annual MeetingAmerican Mosquito Control Association Congress; 2011

AMCA

The use of nectar as an energy source by mosquitoes has been widely established. Although the selection mechanism of floral hosts is not fully understood, it has been proven that visual and odor cues are involved. In the search of new compounds that could be used as an additional tool for the attraction of mosquitoes to a trap, our laboratory began the study of volatiles obtained from different plant species as Calendula spp., Primula spp., Lobularia spp., Plectrantus spp. and Bellis spp. In the present study the floral volatile components were determined in optimized conditions, through the adsorption in Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) and the later analysis by GS-MS. In each species the chemical components were separated and the mayor components were identified. The volatile source was either fresh plant material, or a mixture of its pure constituents. In order to determine the effects of the flower volatile components on Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes, preliminary behavior assays of main compounds were performed in the Y-tube olfactometer. The aim of this study is to develop a cost effective, environmentally friendly method of controlling the disease transmitting Aedes mosquitoes.