title: Semiochemicals from ovaries of gravid females attract ovipositing female houseflies, Musca domestica.
abstract: Chemical signals originating from the ovaries of gravid females of Musca domestica (Diptera: Cyclorrhapha: Muscidae) attract ovipositing females to common egg-laying sites. Behavioral experiments indicated that females preferred to oviposit in fermented wheat bran containing ovaries from reproductively mature houseflies. Females preferred to oviposit in fermented wheat bran than wet wheat bran. This effect was additive with the attraction to housefly ovaries. Solvent extracts from housefly ovaries were attractive to gravid females. Extracts obtained with hexane were most attractive to gravid females for egg laying, and extracts obtained with ethyl acetate attracted more egg laying than extracts obtained by dichloromethane. Gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that tricosane and (Z)-9-tricosene were the main components of the hexane extracts. Both tricosane and (Z)-9-tricosene were shown to elicit dose-dependent aggregation of gravid females in oviposition bioassays, but high doses of either chemical were not attractive.
authors.affiliation: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology, State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Insects and Rodents, No. 19, Zhong-guan-cun Road, 100080, Beijing, China
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Chao liang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Chang ying
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Yu ling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Zhong ning
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang