Chemical residue trends for Australian and New Zealand wool

Textile consumer trends towards improved product safety and high environmental standards have significantly influenced regulators in key consumer markets. The apparel wool industry sector has responded to regulators, and for three decades the Australia and New Zealand wool industries have managed advancements in ectoparasiticides and improved sheep treatments targeting high environmental, animal health and welfare standards leading to safe wool products. Australian and New Zealand chemical residue data from greasy wool have been consolidated and analysed for organophosphate, synthetic pyrethroid, insect growth regulator, neonicotinoid, macrocyclic lactone and spinosad active. Trend analysis has been applied to time domain data to evaluate advancements in ectoparasiticide technology after revising environmental, animal health and welfare standards. Analysis shows impacts from technology improvement, regulatory change and compliance by sheep farmers meeting or exceeding published European Union residue limits for regulated ectoparasiticides namely organochlorine, organophosphate, synthetic pyrethroid and insect growth regulators. Implications from advancements in ectoparasiticide technology, industry management and regulatory measures, include healthy sheep growing in clean pastoral environments with evidence of reduced wool residue levels which complement high and rising proportions of Australian and New Zealand wool fibre meeting European Union Ecolabel criteria.

Validation of the method for evaluating the efficacy of food baits against pharaoh ant colonies

The validation of the method for testing the effectiveness of food baits against colonies of the Pharaoh ant using experiments with commercially produced and laboratory-prepared sugar baits containing insecticides from different chemical groups was carried out. We studied baits based on boron compounds (boric acid and sodium tetraborate), neonicotinoids (thiamethoxam, imidacloprid, and acetamiprid), oxadiazines (indoxacarb), phenylpyrazoles (fipronil), carbamates (methomyl), pyrroles (chlorfenapyr) amidinohydrazones (hydramethylnon), avermectins (abamectin), and insect growth regulators (pyriproxyfen). The proposed algorithm for conducting experiments covers the whole variety of active ingredients of insecticides used in baits. The verification of several dozen products intended for the elimination of colonies of the Pharaoh ant has shown that most of the products are suitable for the requirements for efficacy indices. Keywords: Pharaoh ant, insecticidal baits.

Evaluating The Insect Growth Regulator Match and Some Plant Extracts in Some Biological Aspects of Callosobruchus Maculatus in Laboratory Conditions

The study was conducted in the laboratories of the college of agriculture/Tikrit University to study the effect of various concentrations of the insect growth regulator Match and the three plant extracts, F. foetida, A. vera, and C. myrrha, on some biological aspects of Callosobruchus maculatus. The study results showed that using 0.7 ml has affected the incubation period from 5.55 days in control treatment to 7.77 days when the seeds are dipped before the eggs were laid on them. Moreover, using 7.0 gm of A. vera led to increase the incubation period of the eggs to 7.33 days when the seeds of Vigna sativum were dipped after laying the eggs on them as compared to the control treatment that was 5.66 days. The insect growth regulator Match and other plant extracts have a significant effect in decreasing the average larval stage, it reached 12.88 days when the seeds were dipped after laying the eggs on them with the insect growth regulator Match with a concentration of 0.7 ml and 14.10 days when using the F. foetida extract with a concentration of 0.7 ml as compared to the control treatment that was 17.33 days. Furthermore, the three plant extracts and the insect growth regulator Match have significantly affected the average virgin stage that was 7.66 days longer when the seeds were dipped in the F. foetida extract with a concentration of 7.0 ml before laying the eggs as compared to the control treatment that was 6.33 days.

Insecticide resistance to insect growth regulators, avermectins, spinosyns and diamides in Culex quinquefasciatus in Saudi Arabia

Background Culex quinquefasciatus is not only a biting nuisance but also an important vector of fatal diseases. In Saudi Arabia, management measures to control this mosquito and thereby prevent associated disease transmission have focused on insecticides. Nevertheless, information on the resistance status of C. quinquefasciatus is insufficient, especially concerning insecticides containing novel classes of insecticides. Methods We evaluated six insecticides belonging to four classes of insecticides (insect growth regulators [3], avermectins [1], diamides [1] and spinosyns [1]) for toxicity and resistance in eight C. quinquefasciatus populations (from Ishbiliya, Al-Masfa, Al-Masanie, Al-Washlah, Al-Nakhil, Irqah, Al-Suwaidi and Al-Ghanemiya) following World Health Organisation protocols. Results Resistance status ranging from susceptibility/low resistance to high resistance, in comparison with the susceptible strain, was detected for cyromazine in the eight C. quinquefasciatus populations: Ishbiliya (resistance ratio [RR] = 3.33), Al-Masfa (RR = 4.33), Al-Masanie (RR = 3.67), Al-Washlah (RR = 2.33), Al-Nakhil (RR = 5.33), Irqah (RR = 7.00), Al-Suwaidi (RR = 21.33) and Al-Ghanemiya (RR = 16.00). All C. quinquefasciatus populations exhibited a high level of resistance to diflubenzuron (RR = 13.33–43.33), with the exception of Al-Nakhil which exhibited moderate resistance (RR = 10.00). Susceptibility/low resistance to high resistance was observed for triflumuron in the eight C. quinquefasciatus populations: Ishbiliya (RR = 0.50), Al-Ghanemiya (RR = 3.00), Al-Suwaidi (RR = 10.00), Al-Masfa (RR = 5.00), Al-Masanie (RR = 10.00), Al-Nakhil (RR = 5.00), Irqah (RR = 5.00) and Al-Washlah (RR = 15.00). Susceptibility/low resistance was assessed for abamectin, chlorantraniliprole and spinosad in all C. quinquefasciatus populations, with RR ranges of 0.25–3.50, 0.17–2.19, and 0.02–0.50, respectively. However, the population collected from Irqah showed high resistance to chlorantraniliprole (RR = 11.93). Conclusions The detection of widespread resistance to insect growth regulators in C. quinquefasciatus highlights an urgent need to establish integrated vector management strategies. Our results may facilitate the selection of potent insecticides for integrated vector management programmes for C. quinquefasciatus. Graphical Abstract

The Behavioral Toxicity of Insect Growth Disruptors on Apis mellifera Queen Care

As social insects, honey bees (Apis mellifera) rely on the coordinated performance of various behaviors to ensure that the needs of the colony are met. One of the most critical of these behaviors is the feeding and care of egg laying honey bee queens by non-fecund female worker attendants. These behaviors are crucial to honey bee reproduction and are known to be elicited by the queen’s pheromone blend. The degree to which workers respond to this blend can vary depending on their physiological status, but little is known regarding the impacts of developmental exposure to agrochemicals on this behavior. This work investigated how exposing workers during larval development to chronic sublethal doses of insect growth disruptors affected their development time, weight, longevity, and queen pheromone responsiveness as adult worker honey bees. Exposure to the juvenile hormone analog pyriproxyfen consistently shortened the duration of pupation, and pyriproxyfen and diflubenzuron inconsistently reduced the survivorship of adult bees. Finally, pyriproxyfen and methoxyfenozide treated bees were found to be less responsive to queen pheromone relative to other treatment groups. Here, we describe these results and discuss their possible physiological underpinnings as well as their potential impacts on honey bee reproduction and colony performance.

Effects of Insect Growth Regulators on Mortality, Survival, and Feeding of Euprosterna elaeasa (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) Larvae

The potential of insecticides that affect the growth and insect development to control Euprosterna elaeasa was evaluated. Fenoxycarb, methoxyfenozide, pyriproxyfen, and tebufenozide were assessed against E. elaeasa larvae for toxicity, survivorship, and feeding inhibition in the laboratory, and mortality in semifield conditions. Concentration–mortality bioassays demonstrated that insect growth regulators (IGRs) have a lethal effect on this insect, with pyriproxyfen (LC50 = 0.141 g L−1) being the most effective, followed by fenoxycarb (LC50 = 0.199 g L−1), methoxyfenozide (LC50 = 0.233 g L−1), and tebufenozide (LC50 = 0.259 g L−1). The survival rate was 99.8% in the control group, compared to 44.6%, 42.9%, 42.2%, and 39.5% in insects treated with pyriproxyfen, fenoxycarb, methoxyfenozide, and tebufenozide, respectively. IGRs caused feeding inhibition in E. elaeasa larvae 3 h after exposure. Furthermore, mortality in semifield conditions was similar to the results found in the laboratory. Our findings suggest that fenoxycarb, methoxyfenozide, pyriproxyfen, and tebufenozide are effective against E. elaeasa and, therefore, we confirm the potential of these IGRs for the control of this pest.