Lethal and sublethal heat-exposure of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) causes alarm pheromone emission and elicits a movement response in nearby recipients.

ABSTRACT: Many gregarious insect species use aggregation and alarm pheromones. The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., emits an alarm pheromone (AP), a 70/30 blend of (E)-2-hexenal and (E)-2-octenal, when threatened. Bed bugs avoid temperatures above 43 °C, which are lethal to bugs and used commercially as spatial heat treatments to manage infestations. However, the interaction of bed bug AP in heat avoidance has not been investigated. The goal of this research was to: 1) determine if bed bugs emit AP as an alarm response to heat exposure, and 2) quantify the behavioral responses of conspecifics to AP emitted by heat-exposed bed bugs. Using a selected ion flow tube mass spectrometer, we found that bed bugs responded to lethal and sublethal heat exposure by emitting AP. The Harlan laboratory population em

SUBMITTER: Ashbrook AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11014846 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature