Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM.
J Med Entomol. 2021 Jul 16;58(4):1626-1637. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjab020.
The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., is a common ectoparasite found to live among its vertebrate hosts. Antennal segments in bugs are critical for sensing multiple cues in the environment for survival. To determine whether the thermo receptors of bed bugs are located on their antennae; innovative bioassays were created to observe the choice between heated and unheated stimuli and to characterize the response of bugs to a heat source. Additionally, the effect of complete antenectomized segments on heat detection were evaluated. Heat, carbon dioxide, and moisture are cues that are found to activate bed bug behavior; a temperature at 38°C was used to assess the direction/degree at which the insect reacts to the change in distance from said stimulus. Using a lightweight spherical ball suspended by air through a vacuum tube, bed bugs and other insects are able to move in 360° while on a stationary point. Noldus EthoVision XT was used to capture video images and to track the bed bugs during 5-min bioassays. A bioassay was created using four Petri dish arenas to observe bed bug attraction to heat based on antennae segments at 40°C. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of heat on complete antenectomized segments of the antennae. The results in this experiment suggest that bed bugs detect and are attracted to heat modulated by nutritional status. Learning the involvement of antennae segments in heat detection will help identify the location and role of thermoreceptors for bed bug host interaction.
臭虫，Cimex lectularius L.，是一种常见的外寄生虫，生活在其脊椎动物宿主中。臭虫的触角节对感知环境中的多种生存线索至关重要。为了确定臭虫的热感受器是否位于其触角上；我们创建了创新的生物测定法来观察对加热和未加热刺激的选择，并描述臭虫对热源的反应。此外，还评估了完整的触角切除段对热探测的影响。热、二氧化碳和湿度是激活臭虫行为的线索；使用 38°C 的温度来评估昆虫对来自所述刺激的距离变化的反应方向/程度。通过使用通过真空管悬挂在空气中的轻量级球形球，臭虫和其他昆虫能够在静止点上以 360°移动。Noldus EthoVision XT 用于捕获视频图像并在 5 分钟的生物测定中跟踪臭虫。创建了一个使用四个培养皿竞技场的生物测定法，以根据 40°C 的触角节观察臭虫对热的吸引力。本研究的目的是评估热对触角完全切除段的影响。该实验的结果表明，臭虫可以检测到并被营养状况调节的热所吸引。了解触角节在热探测中的参与情况将有助于确定臭虫与宿主相互作用的热感受器的位置和作用。
