On attractiveness of some amino acids and their decomposed products for the mosquitoes, Culex pipiens pallens

Abstract

The attractiveness of 20 amino acids and two decomposed products to Culex pipiens pallens were determined. A mouse, which wet with 0.5cc of the test solution at various concentrations, was used as an animal trap for the mosquitoes. The female mosquitoes trapped, most of which were fed to repletion, were counted and the ratio to the control well compared. Sulfur containing amino acids, methionine at 0.01% and cystine at 0.001% were highly attractive as 9.7 and 7.0 in the relative attractiveness respectively. Hydrogen sulfide, a decomposed product from sulfur containing amino acids, was also highly attractive as methionine. Glycine, lysine and threonine in 1.0%, tryptophane in 0.1%, tyrosine, arginine glutamic acid, serine and leucine in 0.01% and aspartic acid in 0.001% were also more or less attractive to the mosquitoes. The relationship between the best attractive concentration of each amino acid and the quantity in animal tissues and blood was discussed.