Detector dogs could be trained to find invasive insect pests at borders before they establish in new areas. However, without access to the live insects themselves, odor training aids are needed to condition dogs to their scent. This proof-of-concept study assessed 2 potential training aids for insect detection: a scent extract and dead specimens of the target species. Using Musgraveia sulciventris (Hemiptera: Tessaratomidae) as an experimental model, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses were carried out to compare the chemical headspaces that make up the odors of live specimens and these 2 training aids. This was then followed by canine scent-detection testing to investigate biosecurity detector dogs' (n = 4) responses to training in an ecologically valid context. Both the scent extract and the dead specimens shared the majority of their volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with live insects. Of the dogs trained with scent extract (n = 2), both were able to detect the live insects accurately, and of those trained with dead specimens (n = 2), one detected the live insects accurately. These findings lend support for these training aids as odor-proxies for live insects-particularly scent extract, which is a relatively novel product with the potential for broad application to facilitate and improve insect-detection training.

中文翻译：

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生物安全犬经过气味代理训练辅助工具：气味提取物和死标本的训练后，可以检测到活的昆虫。

可以训练侦探犬在新地区建立之前在边界发现入侵性虫害。但是，如果不能接触活的昆虫本身，则需要气味训练辅助剂来使狗适应其气味。这项概念验证研究评估了2种潜在的昆虫检测辅助训练方法：气味提取物和目标物种的死亡标本。以Musgraveia sulciventris（Hemiptera：Tessaratomidae）作为实验模型，进行了气相色谱-质谱（GC-MS）分析，比较了构成活体样本气味的化学顶空和这两种训练辅助剂。然后进行犬气味检测测试，以研究生物安全检测犬（n = 4）在生态有效的环境下对训练的反应。气味提取物和死者标本均与活昆虫共享大部分挥发性有机化合物（VOC）。用香精提取物训练的狗（n = 2）中，两只都能准确地检测出活昆虫，用死标本训练的狗（n = 2）中，有一只能准确地检测到活昆虫。这些发现为这些培训辅助手段提供了支持，使其成为活昆虫的气味替代物，特别是气味提取物，这是一种相对较新的产品，具有广泛的应用潜力，可以促进和改善昆虫检测培训。