| Title: | Repellent Effect of Volatile Fatty Acids on Lesser Mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus) |
| Author(s): | Baran B; Krzyzowski M; Cup M; Janiec J; Grabowski M; Francikowski J; |
| Address: | "Department of Animal Physiology and Ecotoxicology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, 40-007 Katowice, Poland. bartosz.m.baran@gmail.com. Department of Animal Physiology and Ecotoxicology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, 40-007 Katowice, Poland. michal.krzyzowski@o2.pl. College of Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Science, University of Warsaw, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland. mkicup@interia.eu. Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland. jakub.janiec@me.com. Department of Biophysics, Medical University of Silesia, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland. mateusz.grabowski@med.sum.edu.pl. Department of Animal Physiology and Ecotoxicology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, 40-007 Katowice, Poland. jacek.francikowski@us.edu.pl" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2075-4450 (Print) 2075-4450 (Electronic) 2075-4450 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are a group of common metabolites and semiochemicals mediating information transfer between higher organisms and bacteria, either from microbiome or external environment. VFAs commonly occur among various insect orders. There are numerous studies exploring their influence on the behavior of different insect species. In relation to the papers published by J. E. McFarlane in 1985, we assessed the effects of formic, acetic, propionic, butyric and valeric acids on the spatial preference of the lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus), a common pest of stored food grain products and the poultry industry. The main aim of the presented study was to provide new angles in VFA research, recreating the classical study both with new methods and on economically significant pest species. This paper presents a novel method of continuous, simultaneous assessment of site preference and the travelled distance in a constant-flow olfactometer. All the tested VFAs, except valeric acid, had a significant repellent effect, with formic acid being effective even at the lowest used concentration. Additionally, the VFAs significantly altered the distance travelled by the insects. The obtained results indicate a potential role for VFAs in the olfactory guided behavior of A. diaperinus. It is suspected that the reaction to the presence of VFAs may deviate from the specificity of species' original habitat" |
| Keywords: | Alphitobius diaperinus locomotor activity repellency volatile fatty acids; |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEBaran, Bartosz Krzyzowski, Michal Cup, Mikolaj Janiec, Jakub Grabowski, Mateusz Francikowski, Jacek eng Switzerland 2018/03/17 Insects. 2018 Mar 16; 9(1):35. doi: 10.3390/insects9010035" |
