Culicoides midge trap enhancement with animal odour baits in Scotland.
Abstract: Examples of the commercial trap Mosquito Magnet Pro (MMP emitting attractant 1-octen-3-ol in carbon dioxide 500 mL/min generated from propane fuel), were run 24 h/day on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, during June-August 2001 and evaluated for catching Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). From 30 days trapping, the catch averaged 2626 +/- 1358 Culicoides females/trap/day (mean +/- SE, range 558 +/- 139 to 6088 +/- 3597, for five sets of six consecutive nights), predominantly the pest Culicoides impunctatus Goetghebuer (68% overall), plus C. vexans (Staeger) > C. delta Edwards > C. pulicaris (L.) > C. lupicaris Downs & Kettle > C. albicans (Winnertz) > other Culicoides spp. Attempts were made to enhance the odour baiting system by adding hexane-extracts (2.1 mg/day) of hair samples from large host animals, resulting in the following effects on Culicoides collections: sheep - 53 %, red deer - 26 %, calf + 20%, pony + 40%, water buffalo + 262%, with greatest increases for C. impunctatus and C. pulicaris. Serial concentrations of these animal extracts (10(-1) - 10(-3) x 2.2 g/mL) were assayed on parous female C. impunctatus response in a Y-tube olfactometer (air-flow 150 mL/min), and by electroantennogram (EAG) on Culicoides nubeculosus Meigen laboratory-reared parous females. Positive behavioural responses to host odours were dose-dependent: the water buffalo extract being most active (threshold 0.22 g/mL), similar to deer, whereas other host extracts were > or = 10-fold less active. Correspondingly, the EAG threshold was lowest for water buffalo, 10-fold greater for deer, calf and pony, but not detected for sheep. If the active component(s) of these host extracts can be identified and synthesized, they might be employed to improve the capture of Culicoides midges for local control by removal trapping.
Publication Date: 2005-01-12 PubMed ID: 15641999DOI: 10.1111/j.0269-283X.2004.00516.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Evaluation Study
- Journal Article
- Animal Models
- Animal Science
- Animal Studies
- Culicoides
- Disease control
- Disease Prevention
- Disease Transmission
- Disease Treatment
- Epidemiology
- Equine Health
- Field Study
- In Vivo
- Insect Bite Hypersensitivity
- Mosquito-borne Diseases
- Public Health
- Vector-borne disease
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Procedure
- Veterinary Research
- Veterinary Science
Summary
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This research study focuses on the enhancement of traps targeted at Culicoides biting midges in Scotland by baiting it with animal odours. The researchers found that the water buffalo odour was the most effective in increasing the catch of the midge traps.
Research Background
- The study is situated in the Isle of Skye, Scotland, during June-August 2001. The research team uses the commercial trap Mosquito Magnet Pro (MMP) as their core trapping apparatus, with an added attraction of 1-octen-3-ol in carbon dioxide.
- The midges in focus for this study are the Culicoides biting midges, especially the Culicoides impunctatus Goetghebuer species, which constitute a significant 68% of the total catch.
Approach and Methods
- In order to enhance the trapping efficiency of the MMP, the team decided to add the smell of large animals as bait. They achieved this goal by adding hexane-extracts of hair samples from various animals, including sheep, red deer, calf, pony, and water buffalo.
- The traps were evaluated for over 30 days, and averages were noted for the number of female Culicoides caught per day.
- This technique of ‘odour-baiting’ with hexane-extracts was measured for effectiveness using a Y-tube olfactometer and an electroantennogram (EAG) on Culicoides nubeculosus lab-reared parous females.
Key Findings
- The team discovered that the water buffalo extract seemed to increase the effectiveness of the traps the most, with a percentage increase of 262% in catch. In fact, all the other animal extracts also showed positive results with varying degrees of effectiveness.
- Behavioral response to the odours was found to be dose-dependent; the more the concentration of extract, the higher the trap’s effectiveness.
- Interestingly, the EAG threshold was lowest for the active component in the water buffalo extract; it was about 10 times more for deer, calf, and pony. For sheep, the EAG threshold could not be detected.
Conclusions and Future Directions
- The study concluded that the odours from large animals seem to enhance the trapping efficiency significantly, particularly the extract from a water buffalo. If it would be possible to identify this active component in the various host extracts, it could be synthesized and employed to improve local control over these pest midges.
Cite This Article
APA
Mands V, Kline DL, Blackwell A.
(2005).
Culicoides midge trap enhancement with animal odour baits in Scotland.
Med Vet Entomol, 18(4), 336-342.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0269-283X.2004.00516.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, UK.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Behavior, Animal
- Buffaloes
- Cattle
- Ceratopogonidae / physiology
- Deer
- Electrophysiology
- Female
- Horses
- Insect Control / methods
- Pheromones / physiology
- Scotland
- Sheep
Citations
This article has been cited 13 times.- Hadj-Henni L, Djerada Z, Millot C, Cousinat M, Lehrter V, Augot D. Wing morphology variations in Culicoides circumscriptus from France. Front Vet Sci 2023;10:1089772.
- Brown-Joseph T, Oura CAL, Carrington CVF, Harrup LE. Comparison of surveillance trapping methods to monitor Culicoides biting midge activity in Trinidad, West Indies. Med Vet Entomol 2022 Dec;36(4):456-468.
- Kasičová Z, Schreiberová A, Kimáková A, Kočišová A. Blood meal analysis: host-feeding patterns of biting midges (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae, Culicoides Latreille) in Slovakia. Parasite 2021;28:58.
- Milián-García Y, Janke LAA, Young RG, Ambagala A, Hanner RH. Validation of an Effective Protocol for Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) Detection Using eDNA Metabarcoding. Insects 2021 Apr 30;12(5).
- Augot D, Hadj-Henni L, Strutz SE, Slama D, Millot C, Depaquit J, Millot JM. Association between host species choice and morphological characters of main sensory structures of Culicoides in the Palaeartic region. PeerJ 2017;5:e3478.
- Isberg E, Bray DP, Hillbur Y, Ignell R. Evaluation of Host-Derived Volatiles for Trapping Culicoides Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). J Chem Ecol 2017 Jul;43(7):662-669.
- Isberg E, Bray DP, Birgersson G, Hillbur Y, Ignell R. Identification of Cattle-Derived Volatiles that Modulate the Behavioral Response of the Biting Midge Culicoides nubeculosus. J Chem Ecol 2016 Jan;42(1):24-32.
- Ayllón T, Nijhof AM, Weiher W, Bauer B, Allène X, Clausen PH. Feeding behaviour of Culicoides spp. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) on cattle and sheep in northeast Germany. Parasit Vectors 2014 Jan 18;7:34.
- Tchouassi DP, Sang R, Sole CL, Bastos AD, Mithoefer K, Torto B. Sheep skin odor improves trap captures of mosquito vectors of Rift Valley fever. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2012;6(11):e1879.
- Sollai G, Solari P, Loy F, Masala C, Crnjar R, Liscia A. Morpho-functional identification of abdominal olfactory receptors in the midge Culicoides imicola. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2010 Nov;196(11):817-24.
- Linden A, Gregoire F, Nahayo A, Hanrez D, Mousset B, Massart AL, De Leeuw I, Vandemeulebroucke E, Vandenbussche F, De Clercq K. Bluetongue virus in wild deer, Belgium, 2005-2008. Emerg Infect Dis 2010 May;16(5):833-6.
- Prudhomme J, Bardet C, Rakotoarivony I, Garros C, Bouhsira É, Lienard E. Local investigation into the role of Culicoides species diversity (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in recurrent horse dermatitis cases in southwest France. Parasit Vectors 2025 Mar 5;18(1):86.
- Robinson NA, Robledo D, Sveen L, Daniels RR, Krasnov A, Coates A, Jin YH, Barrett LT, Lillehammer M, Kettunen AH, Phillips BL, Dempster T, Doeschl-Wilson A, Samsing F, Difford G, Salisbury S, Gjerde B, Haugen JE, Burgerhout E, Dagnachew BS, Kurian D, Fast MD, Rye M, Salazar M, Bron JE, Monaghan SJ, Jacq C, Birkett M, Browman HI, Skiftesvik AB, Fields DM, Selander E, Bui S, Sonesson A, Skugor S, Østbye TK, Houston RD. Applying genetic technologies to combat infectious diseases in aquaculture. Rev Aquac 2023 Mar;15(2):491-535.
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