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Volatile Cues from Fresh Cattle Dung Can Drive Horn Fly Egg-Laying and Fecal Attraction to Horn Flies, Haematobia irritans (Diptera: Muscidae)
by
, , ,
Javier Espinoza
1,2,*
,
Isabel Soto
1,3,
Joaquín Arriagada
1,
Marcelo Lizama
1,3,4,
Nehuen Aninao
1,5,
Washington Aniñir
1,2,3,
Emilio M. Ungerfeld
6,
Manuel Chacón-Fuentes
7 and
Andrés Quiroz
1,2 1
Laboratorio de Ecología Química, Departamento de Ciencias Químicas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Casilla 54-D, Avenida Francisco Salazar 01145, Temuco 4811230, Chile
2
Centro de Excelencia en Investigación Biotecnológica Aplicada al Medio Ambiente (CIBAMA), Universidad de La Frontera, Avenida Francisco Salazar 01145, Temuco 4811230, Chile
3
Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Av. Francisco Salazar 01145, Temuco 4811230, Chile
4
Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Agroalimentarias y Medioambiente, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Medioambiente, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, Chile
5
Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad de La Frontera, Av. Francisco Salazar 01145, Temuco 4811230, Chile
6
Centro Regional de Investigación Carillanca, Vilcún, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA), Región de La Araucanía, Temuco 7500502, Chile
7
Agriaquaculture Nutritional Genomic Center, CGNA, Temuco 4780000, Chile
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Insects 2025, 16(2), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16020129
Submission received: 22 December 2024
/
Revised: 23 January 2025
/
Accepted: 24 January 2025
/
Published: 28 January 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inter- and Intra-specific Interactions by Semiochemicals in Arthropods)
Simple Summary
The horn fly is one of the most important ectoparasites of cattle worldwide. Insecticides are commonly used to mitigate this plague, thought resistance to conventional insecticides and its environmental impact are problematic; hence, new approaches for management are being investigated. The use of chemical cues involved in horn fly behavior is promising because these cues are naturally and specifically detected by horn flies, avoiding the development of resistance. In this work, the effects of volatile blends and compounds emitted from cattle dung on the olfactory response and oviposition of horn flies were evaluated. The olfactory response and the egg-laying of horn flies were influenced by volatile cues emanated from cattle feces. Volatile cues from fresh cattle dung were preferred by flies of both sexes and by flies for egg-laying. Moreover, females were attracted to p–cresol and α–pinene which elicited a higher oviposition. Therefore, p–cresol and α–pinene may be responsible, in part, for the dung selection by female horn flies searching for oviposition sites. These results can be valuable for the development of new approaches for the control of the horn fly using semiochemicals as lures in fly traps and simultaneously emitting repellents from cattle as part of a “push-pull” strategy.
Abstract
The horn fly is an economically important hematophagous ectoparasite of cattle. Its management relies heavily on broad-spectrum pesticides, which are harmful to the environment and have led to the development of resistance. Therefore, alternative control methods are needed. Semiochemicals involved in communication between horn flies and their host are a promising alternative. Considering that the egg-laying of this fly occurs almost exclusively in fresh cattle dung, and most parts of its life cycle occur totally in dung, dung volatiles might play an important role in horn fly behavior. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of volatile blends and compounds emitted from fresh/aged cattle dung on the olfactory response and oviposition of horn flies. Dung blends were captured and analyzed by SPME-GC/MS. p–Cresol was the most abundant compound in dung blends, followed by α– and β–pinene, limonene, and β–caryophyllene, among other common dung volatiles. Fresh-dung volatiles attracted males and females in a Y-tube olfactometer, and they elicited the egg-laying of flies in two-choice tests. p-Cresol and α-pinene were attractive to females and they elicited higher oviposition, demonstrating that dung volatile semiochemicals, in part, lend to dung attractiveness and stimulate the horn fly oviposition.
