Sexual Behavior of Screwworm Flies Stimulated by Swormlure-212

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Abstract
Males of the screwworm fly, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), were sexually stimulated by the chemical attractant swormlure-2, reaching a significant level of sexual response when 3 d old. Females started responding when 2 d old, but their responses did not appear to be sexually related. Males responded strongly to stimulation by some of the individual components of swormlure-2, namely sec-butyl alcohol, butyric acid, valeric acid,p-cresol, and indole. Females responded strongly to stimulation by dimethyl disulfide, p-cresol, and acetic acid. The biological significance of swormlure-2 in the behavior of screwworm flies is perhaps that it mimics the odor of an aggregation site (flowers).