Oviposition responses of Culex pipiens to a synthetic racemic Culex quinquefasciatus oviposition aggregation pheromone

摘要

The oviposition pheromone of Culex quinquefasciatus was synthesized in a racemic form in a simple (five steps), efficient, high yielding (45% total yield), and low cost way (use of relatively low cost reagents). Our synthetic racemic pheromone (SRP) was tested in the laboratory for its bioactivity on Culex pipiens biotype molestus, which is a member of the species complex that Culex quinquefasciatus belongs. In the testing conditions, bioactivity at the doses of 0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 mu g per cage was found with the best bioactivity achieved at 1 mu g per cage. The effectiveness of our SRP offers a capable tool for improving mosquito oviposition traps for surveillance or even control programs.