Synthesis, Bioassays and Field Evaluation of Hydroxycoumarins and their Alkyl Derivatives as Repellents or Kairomones for Aedes albopictus Skuse (Diptera: Culicidae) Tovo Mbolatiana Andrianjafy 1,2 & Lala Harivelo Ravaomanarivo 1,2 & Voahangy Vestalys Ramanandraibe 1 & Maonja Finaritra Rakotondramanga 1 & Patrick Mavingui 1,3 & Marc Lemaire 1,4 Received: 25 September 2017 /Revised: 18 January 2018 /Accepted: 1 February 2018 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract In recent years, a significant increase in mosquito-borne diseases has been recorded worldwide. Faced with the limitations of existing methods for controlling the vector mosquito population, the development of attractants to bait traps and repellents to limit host-vector contacts could be promising and environmentally-friendly control strategies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of hydroxycoumarins and their alkyls derivatives against Aedes albopictus, the main vector of several arboviruses. Synthesis, bioassays and field trials were carried out in Madagascar. The results showed that 3, 4 and 6-hydroxycoumarins are attractive to this mosquito, 4-hydroxycoumarin being the most effective both in the laboratory and under field conditions. In addition, a good synergistic effect was found with octenol to attract mosquitoes and especially Ae. albopictus in comparison to other mosquito species living in sympatry. On the contrary, the 4-s-butoxycoumarin and 4-s-pentoxycoumarin derivatives had a repellent effect with the former showing the most significant effect. Further optimization of the dose and structure of these products will be carried out in order to maximize their utility for the control of Ae. albopictus and other mosquitoes. Keywords Aedes albopictus . Vector . Arbovirus . Attractant . Bioassay . Field trials . Hydroxycoumarins . Repellent . Synthesis Introduction Vector borne diseases such as those transmitted by mosquitoes have recently undergone a significant recrudescence (Morens et al. 2004) and now represent 14% of infectious diseases and 28% of emerging diseases (Jones et al. 2008), weighing heavi- ly on public health and the global economy (Jones et al. 2008; Morens et al. 2004; Suaya et al. 2009). Mosquito vector populations are responsible for the spread of many serious human diseases worldwide. The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is a major vector of several arboviruses to human, including chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever and Zika (Faye et al. 2014; Grard et al. 2014; Hochedez et al. 2007; Paupy et al. 2009). This species is very difficult to suppress or control due to its reproductive biology allowing a remarkable ability to adapt to various environments. Indeed, Ae. albopictus is currently considered one of the most threatening invasive spe- cies (Global Invasive Species Database), colonizing all conti- nents, except Antarctica, over the last decades (Kraemer et al. 2015). The presence of Ae. albopictus was recorded as early as 1900 in Madagascar and other islands of the South West Indian Ocean (Edwards 1920). Since, this species has been involved in several arboviral outbreaks in the region, particu- larly dengue and chikungunya fevers (Ratsitorahina et al. 2008; Schuffenecker et al. 2006). In the absence of efficient therapies against most mosquito- borne arboviruses, common approaches consist of controlling mosquito populations by the use of chemical insecticides. However, insecticide application has many drawbacks such as non-specificity and the development of insecticide * Marc Lemaire marc.lemaire.chimie@univ-lyon1.fr 1 Laboratory International Associates, University of Antananarivo-University of Lyon 1, PO Box 906, Antananarivo, Madagascar 2 Department of Entomology, University of Antananarivo, PO Box 906, Antananarivo, Madagascar 3 Université de La Réunion, UMR PIMIT, INSERM 1187, CNRS 9192, IRD 249. Plateforme CYROI, 2 Rue Maxime Rivière, Sainte Clotilde, La Réunion, France 4 ICBMS, CNRS, UMR 5246, University of Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 Bd du 11 Novembre 1918. Bat CPE, 69622 Villeurbanne, France Journal of Chemical Ecology https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-018-0931-7