ARS | Publication request: Identification of volatiles from waste larval rearing media that attract gravid screwworm flies to oviposit

Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 6, 2012
Publication Date: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Gravid female primary screwworm flies are attracted to the waste product resulting from the larval rearing media to deposit their eggs. The airborne gas from this waste product was collected and analyzed. Five chemical compounds were identified which produced positive responses when they were tested on the antennae of the secondary screwworm flies. A synthetic mixture of these chemicals induced oviposition in gravid females of primary screwworms and to a lesser extent in the gravid females of the secondary screwworms.

Technical Abstract: The waste product of the artificial larval rearing media of the primary screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, attracts gravid female screwworm flies to oviposit. The volatile component of this waste product was collected using solid phase microextraction techniques and subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identification procedures. Five compounds identified showed positive electroantennogram responses using antennae of the secondary screwworm, C. macellaria. Oviposition assay with a synthetic chemical blend containing these compounds resulted in substantial oviposition by the gravid females of C. hominivorax. Oviposition assay with the same blend and concentration resulted in significantly less oviposition by gravid C. macellaria.