Residual activity of methoprene and novaluron as surface treatments to manage the flour beetles, Tribolium castaneum and Tribolium confusum
USDA-Agricultural Research Service-Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, 1515 College Avenue,
Manhattan, Kansas, USA
§Current Address: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and
Agriculture, IAEA, Wagramerstrasse 5, Vienna 1400, Austria
Abstract
The juvenile hormone analog methoprene, and the chitin synthesis inhibitor novaluron, were evaluated by exposing late-stage larvae of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) or Tribolium confusum (Jacqueline DuVal) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) to it. The larvae were exposed to it in food material, on concrete, on plywood, and on floor tile. Larvae of T. castaneum were more susceptible than T. confusum larvae to both methoprene and novaluron on all surfaces. A further evaluation was done by exposing adult T. confusum to methoprene and novaluron through food placed on concrete treated with methoprene and novaluron, and then assessing resulting progeny production. The emergence of adults with normal morphology was reduced for both chemicals, with more malformed adults appearing in the methoprene treatment, and fewer adults of any form emerging in the novaluron treatment. The results show direct exposures to larvae, or determining progeny production from exposed adults, are valid methods for assessing the susceptibility of flour beetles to insecticides.
Keywords: efficacy, insecticides, surfaces
Correspondence:
a frank.arthur@ars.usda.gov,
b e.a.fontenot@iaea.org, *Corresponding author
Editor: Michael Adams was editor of this paper.
Received: 30 June 2011 | Accepted: 30 March 2012 | Published: 12 August 2012
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 12, Number 95
Arthur FH, Fontenot EA. 2012. Residual activity of methoprene and novaluron as surface treatments to manage the flour beetles, Tribolium castaneum and Tribolium confusum. Journal of Insect Science 12:95. Available online: http://www.insectscience.org/12.95