Ammonium bicarbonate is an attractant commonly used in trapping systems for tropical fruit flies. Electroantennogram (EAG) recordings were taken from sexually mature Caribbean fruit flies, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), to measure chemoreceptive response to a commercial ammonium bicarbonate lure. In addition, olfactory responses were quantified for pure ammonia (NH3), for pure carbon dioxide (CO2), and for a blend of the two gases comparable to that released from the lure. For all compounds tested, mean female response was greater than male response. For both sexes, NH3 elicited a significantly larger amplitude EAG response than did CO2. When NH3 and CO2 were combined, either as a blend of pure gases or as the vapor emitted from the lure, the EAG response was approximately equal to the sum of the individual responses to the two compounds. This additive response indicates that two distinct olfactory receptor types are involved. The EAG results are used to present a simple hyperbolic model for describing antennal response to single attractants. This model can be used to compare different attractants, to predict EAG responses from specific quantities of attractants, and to determine maximum response attainable for a given stimulus.
Species 1: Diptera Tephritidae Anastrepha suspensa (Caribbean fruit fly)
Keywords: electroantennogram, olfaction
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