Abstract Triatomine bugs, which are vectors of Chagas disease, heavily depend on chemical communication. While much research on the chemical ecology of triatomines has focused on Triatoma, it is essential to explore other genera within the subfamily to improve our understanding of the evolution of triatomine chemical communication. Prior research has indicated that a pheromone present in the feces of triatomine bugs facilitates their aggregation. The aggregation pheromone attracts bugs and arrests them. Here, we investigated the behavioral responses of Paratriatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859) to the volatile compounds emitted by its dry feces. The responses of fifth-instar nymphs, as well as females and males, to dry feces, volatile extracts, and synthetic compounds derived from dry feces were assessed using Y-tube olfactometer bioassays. Volatile compounds from the dry feces of adults were collected using the dynamic headspace technique and identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Dry feces and hexane fecal extracts attracted P. lecticularia nymphs and adults; however, methanolic extracts did not. Ten chemicals were identified in hexanic extracts, whereas 4 were identified in methanolic extracts, with three being common to both. A blend consisting of 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, limonene, menthol, decanal, undecane, and tridecane, derived from hexane fecal extracts, elicited attraction of both nymphs and adults. A blend containing 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, limonene, menthol, decanal, undecane, and tridecane, derived from hexane faecal extracts, attracted both nymphs and adults. These results provide a deeper understanding of the chemical ecology of triatomine bugs. The 7-component blend could be useful for the surveillance of P. lecticularia.
Ramirez-Aguilar et al. (2026) studied this question.