Comparative evaluation of synthetic attractants against an important malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes in laboratory conditions.

Mosquito-borne diseases are a major public health concern, and exploiting the mosquito's reliance on host odors is an effective way to prevent human exposure. We evaluated the attraction of non-blood-fed female Anopheles stephensi Liston, 1901 mosquitoes (Bandar Abbas strain, laboratory population) to four chemical components found in vertebrate host odors (at 5 dilutions) and their blends using an olfactometer in laboratory conditions. When each compound was combined with CO2, three of the four tested compounds showed significant attractancy (P < 0.05) at their optimal dilutions. Hexanoic acid was the most attractive, followed by 3-methyl-1-butanol and L-lactic acid. We created five blends using the most attractive dilutions, and two of these blends significantly attracted mosquitoes in the olfactometer (P < 0.05). The most promising blend contained 3-methyl-1-butanol and hexanoic acid. This blend has potential for use in odor-baited mosquito traps, but further field research is required to evaluate its effectiveness.