The Role of Olfaction in Orientation of Blowflies to Hosts or Odorous Baited Traps

Abstract

Traumatic myiasis is a serious threat for worldwide sheep flocks. It is known that the blowflies’ abundance and occurrence of strikes could be diminished by traps use. The aim of this study was to ascertain the role of olfaction in blowflies’ orientation towards the odorous traps. Three genera of blowflies: Calliphora, Lucilia and Protophormia were monitored. For the 50 m distance all three genera had a positive response to detect the odorous bait, while for the 100 m distance its perception was decreased, but the structure in re-trapped blowflies remained the same, better for Calliphora (18%) and diminished for Protophormia (2%). For the 200 m distance only blowflies of Calliphora (10%) and Lucilia (2%) genera were recovered, respectively.

Keywords

• blowflies
• olfactory cue
• recover