Identification and testing of oviposition attractant chemical compounds for Musca domestica

Oviposition attractants for the house fly Musca domestica have been investigated using electrophysiological tests, behavioural assays and field tests. Volatiles were collected via head space absorption method from fermented wheat bran, fresh wheat bran, rearing substrate residue and house fly maggots. A Y-tube olfactometer assay showed that the odor of fermented wheat bran was a significant attractant for female house flies. Bioactive compounds from fermented wheat bran for house fly females were identified by electrophysiology and mass spectrophotometry and confirmed with standard chemicals. Four electrophysiologically active compounds including ethyl palmitate, ethyl linoleate, methyl linoleate, and linoleic acid were found at a proportion of 10:24:6:0.2. Functional imaging in the female antennal lobes revealed an overlapped active pattern for all chemicals. Further multiple-choice behavioural bioassays showed that these chemicals, as well as a mixture that mimicked the naturally occurring combination, increased the attractiveness of non-preferred rearing substrates of cotton and maize powder. Finally, a field demonstration test revealed that, by adding this mimic blend into a rearing substrate used to attract and breed house flies in West Africa, egg numbers laid by females were increased. These chemicals could be utilized to improve house fly production systems or considered for lure traps.