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ARS Home » Plains Area » Kerrville, Texas » Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory » Livestock Arthropod Pest Research Unit » Research » Research Project #450299
Research Project: Novel Attractants Derived from Host and Plant Volatiles for Monitoring the New World Screwworm

Location: Livestock Arthropod Pest Research Unit

Project Number: 3094-10400-001-016-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 15, 2026
End Date: Aug 14, 2028

Objective:
The objective of this project is to develop NWS attractants based on volatile compounds identified from hosts and plants where NWS males and females rest, feed, and mate.

Approach:
Using gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we will identify compounds derived from hosts (e.g., cattle viscera, host wound fluids, and cattle waste excreta) and trees (e.g., flowers and leaves) where NWS males and females rest, feed, and mate. After, we will evaluate the behavioral activity of NWS towards the identified compounds using field-cage bioassays and field trials.