Meeting Abstract

P1.181  Saturday, Jan. 4 15:30  Olfactory Repellents Acting As Aversive Feeding Deterrents in Gypsy Moth Larvae SEEN, C/M*; ADENUGA, E/T; SHIELDS, V/D/C; Baltimore City Community College; Baltimore City Community College; Towson University cseen1@students.towson.edu

Repellents are widely used to limit interactions between arthropod disease vectors and their animal hosts. Olfactory repellents, such as DEET, an effective repellent against mosquitoes, are thought to exert their effects by modulating the responses of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). DEET may act by directly stimulating the responses of the ORNs or by modifying their responses resulting in behavioral disruption. Recent studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that DEET elicited responses from gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) sensitive to feeding deterrents in gypsy moth larvae, Lymantria dispar. Here, we show that DEET, as well as some other known olfactory repellents suppress feeding behavioral responses in gypsy moth larvae. This indicates that the gustatory system of these larvae, in addition to possibly the olfactory system, is capable of responding to these compounds. This research provides a basis for studies aimed at the discovery of additional novel compounds with repellent activity and a better understanding of the gustatory system of these larvae.