Effects of starvation on the olfactory responses of the blood-sucking bug Rhodnius prolixus.

ABSTRACT: Blood-sucking insects use olfactory cues in a variety of behavioral contexts, including host-seeking and aggregation. In triatomines, which are obligated blood-feeders, it has been shown that the response to CO2, a host-associated olfactory cue used almost universally by blood-sucking insects, is modulated by hunger. Host-finding is a particularly dangerous task for these insects, as their hosts are also their potential predators. Here we investigated whether olfactory responses to host-derived volatiles other than CO2 (nonanal, α-pinene and (-)-limonene), attractive odorant mixtures (yeast volatiles), and aggregation pheromones (present in feces) are also modulated by starvation in the blood-sucking bug Rhodnius prolixus. For this, the responses of both non-starved and starved insects wer

SUBMITTER: Reisenman CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3681923 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature