ODOR-MEDIATED, HOST-SEEKING BEHAVIOR OF ANOPHELES MOSQUITOS - A NEW APPROACH

Investigations of the chemical ecology of host-seeking behaviour of th e anthropophilic, malarial mosquito Anopheles gambiae s.s. were conduc ted using observations on biting behaviour, a behavioural bioassay to test the activity of candidate odours, and analytical chemistry of att ractive odour mixtures. Anopheles gambiae s.s. landed and bit preferen tially on the human foot and it was shown that this behaviour was odou r modulated. In the bioassay, the mosquitoes were found to be highly a ttracted to emanations of Limburger cheese, the odours of which are re miniscent of those from human feet. The active compounds in the cheese were found to be fatty acids and the mosquitoes were attracted to a s ynthetic mixture of such acids. The ecology of this behaviour is discu ssed with respect to the odours produced by human skin.