« Previous AbstractThe electronic song 'Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites' reduces host attack and mating success in the dengue vector Aedes aegypti    Next AbstractEvidence for dual functionality of the operon plnABCD in the regulation of bacteriocin production in Lactobacillus plantarum »

Insects

Title:		Flower Mimics Roll Out Multicolored Carpets to Lure and Kill the House Fly
Author(s):		Dieng H; Satho T; Mohd Radzi N; Abang F; NF AK; Zuharah WF; Hashim NA; Morales Vargas RE; Morales NP;
Address:		"Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU), George Town KY1-1106, Cayman Islands. Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan 94300, Malaysia. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fukuoka University, Nanakuma Jonan-Ku, Fukuoka 814-0180, Japan. Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan 94300, Malaysia. School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor 11800, Malaysia. School of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu 21300, Malaysia. Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10400, Thailand. Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10400, Thailand"
Journal Title:		Insects
Year:		2021
Volume:		20211208
Issue:		12
Page Number:		-
DOI:		10.3390/insects12121097
ISSN/ISBN:		2075-4450 (Print) 2075-4450 (Electronic) 2075-4450 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Flowers and their spatial clustering are important parameters that mediate the foraging behavior and visitation rate of pollinating insects. Visual stimuli are crucial for triggering behavioral changes in the house fly, Musca domestica, which regularly visits plants for feeding and reproduction. The success of bait technology, which is the principal means of combatting flies, is adversely affected by reduced attractiveness and ineffective application techniques. Despite evidence that house flies have color vision capacity, respond to flowers, and exhibit color and pattern preference, the potential of artificial flowers as attractive factors has not been explored. The present study was performed to investigate whether artificial floral designs can lure and kill house flies. Starved wild house flies were presented with equal opportunities to acquire sugar meals, to which boric acid had been added as a toxin, from one flower arrangement (blue-dominated design, BDD; yellow-dominated design, YDD; or pink-dominated design, PDD), and a non-toxic white design (WDD). We also allowed house flies to forage within an enclosure containing two non-toxic floral designs (WDDs). The differences in mortality between the two environments with and without toxicant were examined. The survival rate of Musca domestica was extremely high when WDDs containing non-toxic sugar sources were the only feeding sites available. When given an option to forage in an environment containing a BDD and a WDD, house flies showed a high mortality rate (76%) compared to their counterparts maintained in the WDD environment (2%). When kept in an enclosure containing one YDD and a WDD, flies showed a mortality rate of 88%; however, no mortality occurred among flies confined to a compound with a WDD pair. When provided an even chance of foraging in an enclosure containing a mixed pair of floral arrangements (PDD and WDD) and another with two WDDs, flies showed a higher mortality rate (78%) in the first environment. However, the maximum survival rate (100%) was seen in the WDD environment. Exposure to YDD tended to result in a greater mortality rate than with the two other floral designs. Mortality gradually increased with time among flies exposed to tested artificial floral designs. The results presented here clearly indicated that artificial flower arrangements with a toxic sugar reward were strikingly attractive for house flies when their preferred color (white) was present. These observations offer novel possibilities for future development of flower mimic-based house fly control"
Keywords:		boric acid flower arrangement housefly mortality sugar;
Notes:		"PubMed-not-MEDLINEDieng, Hamady Satho, Tomomitsu Mohd Radzi, Nor Hafisa Syafina Binti Abang, Fatimah A Kassim, Nur Faeza Zuharah, Wan Fatma Hashim, Nur Aida Morales Vargas, Ronald E Morales, Noppawan P eng Switzerland 2021/12/24 Insects. 2021 Dec 8; 12(12):1097. doi: 10.3390/insects12121097"