CHEMOSTIMULI IN THE LIFE-CYCLES OF ECTOPARASITIC ARTHROPODS:TICKS AND TRIATOMINE BUGS AS CASE STUDIES

Patrick Guerin, Conor McMahon, Thomas Krober, Stoyan Grenacher, Mariende Bruyne, Jyotika Taneja, Pablo Guerenstein and Peter Diehl
Institute of Zoology, University of Neuchatel, Rue Emile-Argand 11,2007 Neuchatel, Switzerland.

Apart from visual and thermal cues, chemostimuli guide a variety ofvital behaviours in haematophagous arthropods. Control strategies aim atdisrupting such chemically mediated behaviours. In the case of ticks andtriatomine bugs, each of a series of life stages require a blood meal.Despite being equipped with very few olfactory receptors for any givenhost volatile, ticks show attraction to such products at very low doses.Once on the host, the ticks respond to contact chemostimuli and to materecognition stimuli via gustatory receptors. Triatomine bugs that thrivein more stable peridomestic habitats make parsimonious use of ammonia vapouras a host-attractant when hungry, and as a refuge-finding signal from theirown faeces when replete.