Probing the potentiality of the defoliator Cricula trifenestrata Helfer silk: a revisit.

BACKGROUND: Transformation of pest to valuable product is considered to be a noteworthy innovation. This article explores the potentiality of wild silkworm Cricula trifenestrata Helfer for sustainable development towards human livelihoods. RESULTS: The innate characteristics of this silkworm with robust rearing capacity have bestowed various aspects of biomaterials with special context to diversification of wild silk products. Views on challenges, prospects and the enigma of converting a pest to beneficial product are also unraveled. Exploration on utmost utilization of raw silk, scope for varied byproduct from silk waste may contribute a ray of hope for income generation to the rural population. CONCLUSION: With suitable plantation and congenial climatic conditions for rearing Cricula trifenestrata may serve as an alternative wild silk in contributing to the country's wild raw silk production.

Forced egg retention induced by diethyl-phenylacetamide diminishes the fecundity and longevity of dengue vectors.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Oviposition is an important event in the life cycle of mosquito which is a decisive factor for the fate of its progeny. If oviposition is prevented, the life cycle of mosquito is disrupted and the population growth can be reduced. Diethyl-phenylacetamide (DEPA) is an effective topical repellent against various haematophagous insects. The study reports the egg retention effect and subsequent lethal effect of DEPA on the gravid females of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. METHODS: DEPA was applied at 1000 mg/l onto water surface in oviposition bowls under no-choice condition. Experiments had three replicates with three control and treated cages separately, containing 100 gravid females of each test mosquito species. Every day freshly treated oviposition bowls were provided to the gravid mosquitoes till the last surviving female of the cohort was dead. On completion of one experimental day (24 h) the number of eggs laid in control and treatment bowls were counted manually to assess the oviposition response and longevity of test mosquito species. RESULTS: DEPA at 1000 mg/l concentration reduced the egg deposition and affected the longevity of gravid females. In the DEPA treated cages >1100 eggs were retained by both the species. In the treated cages, about 50% of Ae. albopictus and 41% of Ae. aegypti females died, retaining eggs in their abdomen. The average life span of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus females in control cages were 43 and 50 days respectively, while the females of both the species exposed to DEPA in treated cages survived for 16-22 days. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Presence of DEPA odor on water surface forced the gravid Aedes females to retain their eggs, affecting their fecundity and longevity. This indigenously developed topical repellent DEPA may be applied to container's water that act as breeding grounds for dengue vectors to deter gravid females from oviposition in the vicinity of a household.

Forced egg retention and oviposition behavior of malaria, dengue and filariasis vectors to a topical repellent diethyl-phenylacetamide.

Egg retention and oviposition behavior of four species of mosquito vectors viz., Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus to a topical insect repellent diethyl-phenylacetamide (DEPA) at 0.1-1000 mg/L was investigated under laboratory conditions. Based on oviposition activity indices, DEPA demonstrated concentration dependent oviposition deterrent effect to A. stephensi (-0.18 to -0.97), A. aegypti (-0.18 to -0.91) and A. albopictus (-0.50 to -0.98) females. In contrast, positive oviposition response by C. quinquefasciatus (+0.39 and +0.70) was observed respectively at 0.1 and 1 ppm, while 10 ppm of DEPA on water received 50% lesser egg rafts than control. Gravid Culex females laid no egg rafts at 100 and 1000 ppm DEPA treated bowls effecting 100% oviposition deterrence. Test mosquito females deposited most of their eggs (> 90%) in the absence of repellent odour, while DEPA odour on water surface forced them to retain huge numbers of eggs. Females of A. aegypti, A. albopictus and A. stephensi retained 49, 67 and 50% of total eggs, respectively throughout the experiment. Egg retention by Culex females due to DEPA on the water surface was ca. 65%, equivalent to 4 egg rafts. Therefore, DEPA at lower concentrations could effectively disturb the oviposition by these vectors. Application of repellents in small water bodies would help in reducing the population build up of mosquitoes near human households and could be useful in the integrated management of mosquito vectors.

Behavioral and electrophysiological responses of Aedes albopictus to certain acids and alcohols present in human skin emanations.

Human skin emanations attract hungry female mosquitoes toward their host for blood feeding. In this study, we report the flight orientation and electroantennogram response of Aedes albopictus females to certain unsaturated acids and alcohols found in human skin. In the Y-tube olfactometer, odors of lactic acid and 2-methyl-3-pentanol attracted 54-65% of Ae. albopictus females at all doses in a dose-dependent manner. However, at the highest dose (10(-2) g), the acids repelled 40-45% females. Attractancy (ca. 62-68%) at lower doses and repellency (ca. 30-45%) at higher doses were recorded for 3-methyl-3-pentanol and 1-octen-3-ol, while 5-hexen-1-ol, cis-2-hexen-1-ol, and trans 2-hexen-1-ol odor repelled ca. 55-65% of Ae. albopictus females at all doses. Antenna of female Ae. albopictus exhibited a dose-dependent EAG response up to 10(-3) g of L-lactic acid, trans-2-methyl-2-pentenoic acid, 2-octenoic acid, trans-2-hexen-1-ol and 1-octen-3-ol stimulations; however, the highest dose (10(-2) g) caused a little decline in the EAG response. EAG response of 9-10-fold was elicited by lactic acid, 2-octenoic acid, trans-2-hexenoic acid, and 3-methyl-3-pentanol, while cis-2-hexen-1-ol and trans-2-methyl pentenoic acid elicited 1-5-fold responses compared to solvent control. A blend of attractive compounds could be utilized in odor-baited trap for surveillance and repellent molecules with suitable formulation could be used to reduce the biting menace of mosquitoes.

Olfaction in Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus: flight orientation response to certain saturated carboxylic acids in human skin emanations.

The flight orientation response of nonblood-fed and hungry Aedes albopictus females was studied in a Y-tube olfactometer at 10(-6) to 10(-2) g odor plumes of saturated carboxylic acids (C1-C20), in which C2-C18 were the main constituents of human skin emanations. Thirteen acids viz C1, C2, C3, C5, C6, C8 C9, C10, C12, C14, C16, C18, and C20 showed attractance at odor plumes ranging from 10(-5) to 10(-3) g doses, while five acids viz C4, C7, C11, C15, and C19 showed repellence at 10(-4) to 10(-2) g to test mosquitoes. Tridecanoic acid (C13) showed attractance only at 10(-4) g dose while higher doses caused repellence. Dose-dependent reversal of orientation behavior from attractance to repellence was observed at 10(-2) g plumes of C5, C9, C10, C13, C17, C19, and C20 acids. The outcome of the study will help in the identification of odoriferous acids as potential attractants, repellents, or attraction inhibitors, which may find their application in the repellent formulations and odor-baited traps for surveillance and control of mosquitoes.

Behavioral and electrophysiological responses of Culex quinquefasciatus to certain fatty acid esters.

Oviposition response of gravid Culex quinquefasciatus females to a series of synthetic fatty acid esters was evaluated at 10ppm under laboratory conditions. Octyl tridecanoate and propyl octadecanoate elicited 85% and 73% increased ovipositional responses respectively, compared to control, among the 16 esters tested. Other 14 esters showed highly significant repellency (67-96%) to gravid females. Standard 3-methyl indole received 69% increased egg deposition compared to control. In the Y-tube olfactometer, gravid C. quinquefasciatus females exhibited 78, 64% and 58% orientation respectively to octyl tridecanoate, propyl octadecanoate and 3-methyl indole. Gravid females exhibited 19-41% reduced orientation toward treatment odors of other esters significantly different from respective control. Electroantennogram studies revealed 4-18-fold increased antennal response, in which 3-methyl indole, octyl tridecanoate and propyl octadecanoate elicited 8-, 18- and 15-fold EAG response respectively, compared to control. Relative EAG response of octyl tridecanoate compared to standard 3-methyl indole was significantly different. Reduced EAG responses were elicited by FAE-06, -08, -13, -14 and -15, while the relative EAG responses of other esters were at par with the standard stimulus. These, esters could be utilized potentially as oviposition attractants and repellents against C. quinquefasciatus females to reduce the breeding in polluted water along with existing integrated vector control methods.

Oviposition and flight orientation response of Aedes aegypti to certain aromatic aryl hydrazono esters.

Aedes aegypti is a day-biting, highly anthropophilic mosquito and a potential vector of dengue and chikungunya in India. A. aegypti is a container breeder, generally oviposit in the stored and fresh water bodies, and discarded containers near residential areas that provide suitable habitats for oviposition by gravid females. The diurnal activity and endophilic nature of these mosquitoes have increased the frequency of contact with human being. Assured blood meal from human host in an infested area leads to increased disease occurrence. Gravid mosquitoes can potentially be lured to attractant-treated traps and could subsequently be killed with insecticides or growth regulators. In this direction, oviposition by A. aegypti females to aryl hydrazono esters (AHE)-treated bowls at 10 ppm concentration was tested in dual choice experiment, and their orientation response to these ester compounds was studied in Y-tube olfactometer. Among the esters tested, AHE-2, AHE-11 and AHE-12 elicited increased egg deposition with oviposition activity indices (OAI) of +0.39, +0.24 and +0.48, respectively, compared to control; in contrast, AHE-8, AHE-9 and AHE-10 showed negative oviposition response with OAI of -0.46, -0.35 and -0.29, respectively, at 10 mg/L. In the Y-tube olfactometer bioassay, AHE-2 attracted 60 % females compared to control, while to the odour of AHE-11 and AHE-12, about 70 % of the females were trapped in treated chambers. In contrast, only 27-30 % of gravid females entered the chamber releasing AHE-8, AHE-9 and AHE-10 odour plumes, while 70 % entered control chamber, evincing a possible non-preference of treatment odours as well as interference with olfactory receptors. These compounds have the potential for application as oviposition stimulants or deterrents for surveillance and control of mosquito population using ovitraps.

Synthesis and bio-evaluation of aryl hydrazono esters for oviposition responses in Aedes albopictus.

A novel series of aryl hydrazono esters (AHE) (1-13) were synthesized (yield 76-98%) to study the oviposition responses in Aedes albopictus (Skuse) mosquitoes for the first time. At a concentration of 10µgml(-1) in dual choice experiment, among the screened compounds, AHE-12 showed remarkable oviposition attractant activity with an oviposition activity index (OAI) of +0.299 (greater than 95% confidence limit) comparable to p-cresol (OAI +0.320) which is well-reported oviposition attractant for Aedes aegypti. Conversely, AHE-10 exhibited highest oviposition deterrent activity with OAI -0.247. The possible utilization of these compounds will be in integrated vector management strategies.