Bed bug behavior - What smell can tell
Bed bugs are on the rebound in developed countries. Traditionally, bed bugs are controlled with pesticides. However, traps with attractive human body odors are a promising alternative.
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De Bruijn et al. (2018) used the EntoLab system with two very different parasitic wasp species: the larval parasitoid Cotesia glomerata and the pupal parasitoid Nasonia vitripennis. The system proved to be highly suitable for testing memory retention in both these species. Unlike other bioassays, the EntoLab system allows for both high-throughput assays and recording of detailed individual behavior.
The high-throughput individual T-mazes in EntoLab provide a standardized, labor-efficient and cost-effective method to test various kinds of behavior, offering excellent opportunities for comparative studies of various aspects of insect behavior.
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Cross section of the T-maze set up of De Bruijn (2018). This single T-maze consists of multiple layers of plexiglass plates. The bottom compartment consists of a bottom sliding door plate, which allows insertion of insects, and the cage plate. Above the bottom compartment is the gate plate, which only opens at the start of the experiment. The top compartment consists of the arena plate with agarose zones and the top plate with gauze to allow gas exchange. The figure shows a cross section of a single T-maze, frontal view, out of a complete block of potentially 50 arenas. The bar is the lateral length of a single maze.
Reference
- De Bruijn, J.A.C. (2020). Information reliability shaping parasitoid foraging behaviour. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, 181 pp. https://edepot.wur.nl/506702
- De Bruijn, J.A.C.; Vet, L.E.M.; Jongsma, M.A.; Smid, H.M. (2018). Automated high-throughput individual tracking system for insect behavior: Applications on memory retention in parasitic wasps. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 309: 208-217. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2018.09.012
