title: The repellency of lemongrass oil against stable flies, tested using video tracking.
abstract: Lemongrass oil (Cymbopogon citratus) is an effective repellent against mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and house flies (Diptera: Muscidae). In this study, its effectiveness was assessed on stable flies (Diptera: Muscidae) in laboratory conditions. First, we demonstrated that lemongrass oil is an active substance for antennal olfactory receptor cells of Stomoxys calcitrans as indicated by a significant increase in the electroantennogram responses to increasing doses of lemongrass oil. Feeding-choice tests in a flight cage with stable flies having access to two blood-soaked sanitary pads, one of which was treated with lemongrass oil, showed that stable flies (n = 24) spent significantly more time in the untreated zone (median value = 218.4 s) than in the treated zone (median value = 63.7 s). No stable flies fed on the treated pad, whereas nine fed on the untreated pad. These results suggest that lemongrass oil could be used as an effective repellent against stable flies. Additional studies to confirm its spatial repellent and feeding deterrent effects are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Dynamique et Gouvernance des Systèmes Écologiques, Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (CEFE), UMR 5175, Université Paul-Valéry (UM3), Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baldacchino
authors.forename: Coline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tramut
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salem
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Liénard
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delétré
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Franc
authors.forename: Thibaud
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Duvallet
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jay-Robert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057506:Arthropod Antennae / Q000502:physiology; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D006586:Hexanes / Q000494:pharmacology; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009117:Muscidae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D000442:Octanols / Q000494:pharmacology; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013729:Terpenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014741:Video Recording
chemical_list: D006586:Hexanes; D007302:Insect Repellents; D000442:Octanols; D010938:Plant Oils; D013729:Terpenes; C052901:lemongrass oil; C038844:1-octen-3-ol