ARS | Publication request: Evaluation of several novel alkynols, alkenols, and selected host odor blends as attractants to female Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus

Submitted to: American Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: July 19, 2012
Publication Date: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Scientists at the USDA-ARS, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, FL, in collaboration with scientists from the Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL have studied a series of similar compounds to determine how well these compounds attract mosquitoes. Included in this study were alcohols with triple bonds that are related in structure to 1-octen-3-ol, a commonly used attractant for mosquitoes. Experiments were conducted to see how well combinations of these and other alcohols with and without carbon dioxide attracted or prevented the collection of mosquitoes in traps. It was found that some compounds decreased trap collections of the Southern House mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus). There was one combination that collected the Asian Tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, better than the standard 1-octen-3-ol, and two compounds that reduced trap collections of this species. The results of this study may be useful for professionals that rely on mosquito surveillance and for those interested in preventing mosquito attack by these types of mosquitoes.

Technical Abstract: The compound 1-octen-3-ol is a strong attractant for some mosquito species. Based on chemical structure, this may be due to a terminal site of unsaturation or high electron density, a structural capability for hydrogen bonding e.g. -OH, -NH2, NHR, NR2 etc., a saturated hydrocarbon chain of a certain minimum length, and a certain relative distance between the region of high electron density and the alcohol (or other hydrogen-bonding) functional group. Based on this hypothesis, four novel alkynol (triple bonded) analogs were synthesized and evaluated alone or in combination with acetone and dimethyl disulfide, and with and without carbon dioxide in Mosquito Magnet-X© (MMX) suction traps. Attraction of laboratory-reared adult Aedes albopictus Skuse and Culex quinquefasciatus Say to these analogs and combinations was compared to 1-octen-3-ol as a standard in semi-field trials. For both species none of the alkynols, with and without carbon dioxide or acetone and dimethyl disulfide, were significantly different from 1-octen-3-ol. The compounds 2-octyn-4-ol and 2-nonyn-4-ol alone and with carbon dioxide suppressed Cx. quinquefasciatus collections. An additional six alkenol (double bonded) analogs were tested in mixtures with 3-n-propylphenol and 4-methylphenol in a ratio of 4:1:8, respectively. Using the same trapping methods, Cx. quinquefasciatus catches containing 3-decen-1-ol were increased nearly 3-fold when combined with carbon dioxide. Aedes albopictus collections in traps with the 3-decen-1-ol/phenol mixture and carbon dioxide were significantly greater than similar traps with 1-octen-3-ol. Traps baited with the phenol blends that incorporated [Z]-3-nonen-1-ol, [Z]-8-nonen-3-ol, or 1-octen-3-ol were considerably supressed in the presence of carbon dioxide.