Effects of carbon dioxide, acetone and 1-octen-3-ol on the activity of the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans

Abstract

The responses of Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) to carbon dioxide, acetone and 1-octen-3-ol were assessed using flight activity as a measure of activation. Carbon dioxide and acetone caused significant increases in activity, with thresholds at ~0.006% and ~0.01 μg 1-1, respectively. For 1-octen-3-ol, flight activity decreased at 2μg 1-1 for males, and at 0.2 μg 1-1 for females. Variation in activity was also manifest as differences in the time elapsed between landing and subsequent take-off: CO2 (7.1 s) and acetone (12.2s) had lower times than the corresponding no-odour controls (16.6 and 23.2s), whereas 1-octen-3-ol (25s) had a higher time than the control (21.5s). The proportion of the total number of flights landing on a black target was higher in CO2(0.16) and acetone (0.11) than in clear air (c. 0.07), but was lower for 1-octen-3-ol.