title: Repellency of α-pinene against the house fly, Musca domestica.
abstract: Musca domestica L. is a non-biting nuisance fly that is capable of transmitting a large variety of pathogens to humans and non-human animals. Natural compounds and their derivatives, which are often less toxic than entirely synthetic compounds, may be used as repellents against M. domestica as part of comprehensive pest control and disease mitigation programs. This work investigates the repellent properties of the natural compound α-pinene against M. domestica. Adult house flies of both sexes avoided the volatile plant-derived terpenes (1S)-(-)-α-pinene 1 and (1R)-(+)-α-pinene 2 in constant air flow laboratory conditions, with 1 exhibiting a stronger repellent effect. House flies also avoided tarsal contact with filter paper saturated with 1. Furthermore, both 1 and 2 are electrophysiologically active on in situ female house fly antennal preparations. These findings demonstrate that α-pinene exhibits natural baseline repellency against the house fly, elicits a specific physiological response in this fly, and that functional or structural modification of 1 in particular may yield novel fly repellents with desirable properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY 12561, United States. Electronic address: haseltoa@newpaltz.edu.
authors.forename: Aaron T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Haselton
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY 12561, United States.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acevedo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY 12561, United States.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuruvilla
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY 12561, United States.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY 12561, United States.
authors.forename: Jaydon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kiernan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY 12561, United States.
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dhar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057506:Arthropod Antennae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000081008:Bicyclic Monoterpenes; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006793:Houseflies / Q000187:drug effects*; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D039821:Monoterpenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D064367:Olfactometry / Q000379:methods; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D000081008:Bicyclic Monoterpenes; D007302:Insect Repellents; D039821:Monoterpenes; C005451:alpha-pinene
keywords: (1S)-(−) and (1R)-(+)-α-pinene; Electroantennogram; Musca domestica; Repellent; Terpenes; Y-tube olfactometer