Evaluation of a CO2-free commercial mosquito attractant to capture triatomines, vectors of Chagas disease, in the laboratory

GUIDOBALDI F; GUERENSTEIN PG

JOURNAL OF VECTOR ECOLOGY

SOC VECTOR ECOLOGY

Lugar: Idaho, EEUU; Año: 2013 vol. 38 p. 245 - 250

1081-1710

Triatomines, vectors of Chagas Disease, are hematophagous insects. Efforts have been made to develop vertebrate odor-based attractants to lure triatomines into traps. However, more work is needed to reach a practical, cheap and efficient odor lure. We carried out attraction and capture tests in a dual-choice olfactometer and a pit-fall trap. Here we report that a 3-component, CO2-free, synthetic blend of vertebrate odor (consisting of ammonia, L(+) lactic acid and hexanoic acid, and known as Sweetscent) significantly induces third-instar Rhodnius prolixus and Triatoma infestans nymphs to let themselves fall into the test capture-tube of the olfactometer. Blend constituents presented singly or in 2-component blends did not evoke a response and, therefore, we propose that the insects respond specifically to the 3-component blend, in a synergistic way. When tested in a pit-fall trap in an experimental arena, this blend induced capture in 37.58 % of the lured traps whereas 9.0 % of the nymphs tested were captured in a single night. No insects were captured in control traps. Our work represents a proof-of-concept regarding capture of triatomines using host odor-based, CO2-free synthetic mixtures as lures for pit-fall traps. CO2-free lures are more practical for field work than natural or CO2-containing synthetic blends.