A novel diffusion-cage olfactometer tested the responses of Anopheles gambiae Giles to plant volatiles. Green-leaf volatiles are often released from cut or injured plant tissue and may alter the headspace of plants used in olfactometer assays. The diffusion-cage olfactometer is designed for use with whole, intact plants, hence giving a more realistic behavioral assay. Its simple plastic construction, ease of assembly, and accommodation to whole plants makes it a useful tool for measuring mosquito orientation to plant volatiles within large enclosures. We compared its performance to that of the more commonly used T-tube wind-tunnel olfactometer, by testing the orientation of mosquitoes to volatiles of a few prevalent plants of eastern Africa reportedly utilized by An. gambiae for sugar: Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae), Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae), Lantana camara (Verbenaceae), and Senna occidentalis (Fabaceae). Results indicate that the diffusion-cage olfactometer is an effective alternative to conventional wind-tunnel olfactometers, to test mosquito orientation to plant volatiles under seminatural conditions.
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26 October 2015
Orientation of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) to Plant-Host Volatiles in a Novel Diffusion-Cage Olfactometer
Philip E. Otienoburu,
Mahmood R. Nikbakhtzadeh,
Woodbridge A. Foster
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Journal of Medical Entomology
Vol. 53 • No. 1
January 2016
Vol. 53 • No. 1
January 2016
Anopheles gambiae
olfactometer
plant attractant
plant volatile
screenhouse