Efficacy and safety of selamectin of flea infestation in dags

The study was conducted at three dog shekers in Thessaloniki Greece, το confirm die efficacy and safety of selamectin aτ a minimum dosage of 6 mg/kg adminisτered topically as a monthly dose repeaτed three times in die treatment of natural i n f l a t i o n s of Ctenocephalides spp. Twenty (20) dogs, with confirmed naturally acquired flea inflations, were enrolled in die sttidy as primary patiems. All animals completed the study on day 90. Twenty-two in cornai dogs were also treated but not evaluated for efficacy (secondary patiems). There was no untreated group. Only one live adult flea was recovered on only one animal on study day 30, a reduction of die geomettical mean of 99.7 % (p < 0.0001) compared to the sτarτ of die study. Dead fleas were found on 3 animals aτ day 30 (1 or 2 per animal). No live or dead fleas were found on day 60 or on day 90. Ατ sttidy beginning on Day 0, seventy percem of sttidy animals had various clinical signs of flea inflation. These signs gradually decreased and by die end of die sttidy on day 90, only one animal remained widi a score of 1, indicating a low imensity in a single area of die body. All odier animals were free of clinical signs. No abnormal clinical signs or suspend adverse drug reactions were observed after treatment of die 20 primary or die 22 secondary patiems. The daτa collected confirm that under field conditions diree consecutive mondily doses of selamectin are highly effective and safe in die treatment and comrol of fleas in dogs.

The invasive flea beetle Luperomorpha xanthodera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae), potentially noxious to ornamental plants – first record in Poland

A specimen of a flea beetle collected by plant sweeping from an experimental plot of oregano in Warsaw showed characteristics of the invasive species Luperomorpha xanthodera. This beetle, originating from Far East, appeared in Europe at the beginning of this century and seems to extend its range continuously. So far, it has been noted from England, Italy, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary but not from Poland. Being polyphagous, adult flea beetles of this species may appear in numbers on flowers of various ornamental plants causing considerable damage.

Control of immature stages of the flea Ctenocephalides felis(Bouché) in carpets exposed to cats treated with imidacloprid

Fleas cause allergic dermatitis in cats and dogs and therefore warrant control. It has been demonstrated previously that there is marked inhibition of the development of the immature stages of the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis on fleece blankets exposed to cats treated with imidacloprid. This study reports on the efficacy of imidacloprid in suppressing adult flea emergence in carpet exposed to treated cats. Circular discs of carpet pre-seeded with flea eggs and larvae were exposed to 6 untreated control and 6 topically treated (imidacloprid 10 % m/v) cats 1 to 2 days after treatment and subsequently fortnightly for 6 weeks. Exposure times on alternate days were either 1 or 6 hours. Adult flea yield from carpets was determined 35 days after exposure. Differences between flea yield on control carpets and those exposed for 1 hour were significant only for days +1 and +14. For the 6-hour exposure, differences were significant at all times except on Day +43. The ability of imidacloprid to suppress the yield of adult fleas on carpets (6-hour exposure) steadily declined from 82 % (Day +2) to 12 %(Day +43). For the 1-hour exposure it varied inconsistently between 0 and 83 % over the 6-week study period.

ANTIBIOSIS OF PREFERRED AND NON-PREFERRED HOST-PLANTS FOR THE FLEA BEETLE, PHYLLOTRETA CRUCIFERAE (GOEZE) (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE)

The antibiosis of crucifers to flea beetles, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze), was compared for Brassica juncea L., B. napus L., and B. rapa L. with low antixenosis, B. carinata L. and Sinapis alba L. with moderate antixenosis, and Thlaspi arvense L. with high antixenosis. Adult flea beetles collected from the field in early spring fed actively on intact or excised leaves of all plants except T. arvense. The beetles survived, and gained weight and fat on the Brassica species and S. alba, but not on intact foliage of T. arvense. No antibiosis was detected in any of the Brassica species or in S. alba. Intact foliage of T. arvense was so antixenotic that beetles probably starved rather than suffered from antibiosis. A low level of antibiosis was detected in excised foliage of T. arvense where the antixenosis was lost. These experiments show that estimates of beetle survival, dry weight, and fat content can be used in the laboratory to test small numbers of candidate plants for antibiosis. However, the level of antibiosis appears to vary less among Brassica species and related plants than does the level of antixenosis, and so the latter is a more promising type of resistance for use against flea beetles in canola.