Gunathunga Panchalie B, King Bethia H, Geden Christopher J
Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA.
USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL, USA.
J Insect Sci. 2025 Jan 20;25(1). doi: 10.1093/jisesa/ieae117.
House flies, Musca domestica L., are pests at livestock facilities. House fly numbers are controlled mainly by manure management and chemical controls, like use of toxic baits. Some toxic baits contain denatonium benzoate as a bittering agent, to avoid poisoning of children. House fly behavioral response to denatonium benzoate was examined, using 2 different diluents, sucrose solution or orange juice. Response of flies to quinine and sucrose octaacetate, 2 other bittering agents, was also examined in sucrose. Sucrose is the sweetener in commercially available toxic house fly baits. The proboscis extension response of both male and female flies was significantly reduced by addition of 1,000 ppm of denatonium benzoate to sucrose. Response in males was also reduced at 100 ppm. Consumption of sucrose by both male and female flies was reduced by addition of 100, 500, and 1,000 ppm of denatonium benzoate, but consumption by males was also reduced at 10 ppm. Addition of sucrose octaacetate had no detectable effect on consumption of sucrose at 100, 500, or 1,000 ppm. In contrast, addition of quinine reduced consumption by both male and female flies in all tested concentrations. In orange juice, 10 ppm of denatonium benzoate is often avoided by children. With orange juice, fly proboscis extension response patterns were the same for both sexes, with a reduction at 1,000 ppm of denatonium benzoate. Orange juice consumption by flies was reduced significantly at 1,000 ppm of denatonium benzoate for females but not at any of the concentrations tested for males.
家蝇（Musca domestica L.）是家畜养殖设施中的害虫。家蝇数量主要通过粪便管理和化学防治手段来控制，比如使用有毒诱饵。一些有毒诱饵含有苯甲地那铵作为苦味剂，以避免儿童中毒。研究人员使用两种不同的稀释剂——蔗糖溶液或橙汁，检测了家蝇对苯甲地那铵的行为反应。还在蔗糖中检测了家蝇对另外两种苦味剂奎宁和蔗糖八乙酸酯的反应。蔗糖是市售有毒家蝇诱饵中的甜味剂。在蔗糖中添加1000 ppm的苯甲地那铵后，雄性和雌性家蝇的喙伸展反应均显著降低。雄性家蝇在100 ppm时反应也有所降低。添加100、500和1000 ppm的苯甲地那铵会使雄性和雌性家蝇的蔗糖消耗量减少，但雄性家蝇在10 ppm时消耗量也会减少。添加100、500或1000 ppm的蔗糖八乙酸酯对蔗糖消耗量没有可检测到的影响。相比之下，添加奎宁会使所有测试浓度下的雄性和雌性家蝇的消耗量都减少。在橙汁中，10 ppm的苯甲地那铵通常会被儿童避开。对于橙汁，两性家蝇的喙伸展反应模式相同，在添加1000 ppm苯甲地那铵时反应降低。雌性家蝇在1000 ppm苯甲地那铵时的橙汁消耗量显著减少，但雄性家蝇在任何测试浓度下的消耗量都没有减少。
