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A comparison of the behavioural responses of the haematophagous bug, Triatoma infestans , to synthetic homologues of two naturally occurring chemicals (n‐ and iso‐butyric acid)
Author(s) -
WARD J. P.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
physiological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0307-6962
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3032.1981.tb00277.x
Subject(s) - triatoma infestans , butyric acid , biology , reduviidae , olfactometer , heteroptera , zoology , toxicology , biochemistry , ecology , trypanosoma cruzi , host (biology) , parasite hosting , world wide web , computer science
. Responses of adult Triatoma infestans Klug (Reduviidae) to iso‐butyric acid (which is secreted by the Brindleys glands of this species) and its isomer n‐butyric acid (which is not) were tested in an olfactometer. Bugs avoided both these chemicals with a response that involved klinotactic and orthokinetic components. The avoidance response to iso‐butyric acid showed a marked diminution at high concentrations. Avoidance of n‐butyric acid, however, was inversely proportional to the log of its concentration. This difference in response is discussed in relation to the communicative function of these two chemicals.