Chemosensory detection of aversive concentrations of ammonia and basic volatile amines in insects.

Basic volatiles like ammonia are found in insect environments, and at high concentrations cause an atypical action potential burst, followed by inhibition in multiple classes of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in . During the period of inhibition, ORNs are unable to fire action potentials to their ligands but continue to display receptor potentials. An increase in calcium is also observed in antennal cells of and .

Pentylamine inhibits humidity detection in insect vectors of human and plant borne pathogens.

Insects house humidity-sensing neurons in the antenna, which is presumed to be important for a variety of behaviors and survival since water is a crucial component of the environment. Here we use the simple olfactory system of the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP), a citrus pest that transmits a deadly bacterium, to identify volatile amines that significantly inhibited humidity-induced activation of antennal neurons. The inhibition of action potentials is observed by single sensillum recordings and mixing these odorants with humid air abolished the humidity avoidance behavior of ACP.

The taste of togetherness.

The larvae of fruit flies produce pheromones to control whether they are attracted to others of the same species or whether they avoid members of a different species.