Open AccessAttraction of Phlebotomus papatasi to common fruit in the field
Author(s) -
Junnila Amy,
Müller Günter C.,
Schlein Yosef
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of vector ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.688
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1948-7134
pISSN - 1081-1710
DOI - 10.1111/j.1948-7134.2011.00132.x
Subject(s) - biology , psidium , attraction , phlebotomus , honeydew , sugar , botany , coffea , nectar , horticulture , leishmania , pollen , parasite hosting , food science , linguistics , philosophy , world wide web , computer science
Sand flies have been reported feeding on various plant organs including stems, leaves, and flowers but the attraction of sand flies to sugar‐rich fruits has received little attention. In this study, we tested 24 commercially available fruits for their attractiveness to sand flies, and found that the top three attractive fruits were nectarine ( Prunus persica var. nectarina), cactus fruit, ( Opuntia ficus‐indica ), and guava ( Psidium guajava ). These fruits were fed upon equally by both males and females. There were slight differences in the order of preference to the less‐attractive fruits by males and females, but these were not statistically significant. The knowledge of fruit preference may help to improve existing methods that use plant phytochemicals to attract and kill biting flies.