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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #355269

Research Project: Biting Arthropod Surveillance and Control

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Vapor toxicity of five volatile pyrethroids against Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Anopheles quadrimaculatus (Diptera: Culicidae)

Author
item BIBBS, CHRISTOPHER - University Of Florida
item TSIKOLIA, MAIA - University Of Florida
item BLOOMQUIST, JEFFREY - University Of Florida
item Bernier, Ulrich
item XUE, RUI-DE - Anastasia Mosquito Control District
item KAUFMAN, PHILLIP - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Pest Management Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/25/2018
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Scientists at the USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, University of Florida, and Anastasia Mosquito Control District tested studied how well volatile insecticides kill mosquitoes. The volatile chemicals evaporate easily into the air and can be used to kill or repel mosquitoes from a distance. Mosquitoes were exposed to vapors from each chemical and then examined up to 24 hours after contact with the chemicals. The study results indicated the order in which the chemicals were best at killing the mosquitoes. This information can be used to develop products that use the best chemical. The outcome of this study benefits people at risk mosquito attack throughout the world, and may be of specific use to researchers and commercial entities that are developing new repellents for personal protection from mosquito attack.

Technical Abstract: Mosquito mortality has been documented in numerous studies of spatial repellents but the concentration-dependent toxicity of spatial repellent vapors has not been documented. To address this issue, prallethrin, flumethrin, metofluthrin, transfluthrin, and meperfluthrin were selected for comparative study against Aedes albopictus (Skuse), Ae. aegypti (L.), Culex quinquefasciatus Say, and Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say. Mosquito were exposed to vapors of each chemical for 2h, 4h, and 24h with mortality recorded at each time point. A second experiment involved exposing mosquitoes to vapors for 2h, then transferring them to untreated holding containers and held for 24h. For these mosquitoes, readings were only taken after 24h to allow for metabolic detoxification and recovery. The LC50 and LC90 data indicated that transfluthrin and meperfluthrin had the greatest toxicity across all species, followed by metofluthrin, prallethrin, and flumethrin. Our findings, through the direct comparison of these compounds, suggest that transfluthrin, meperfluthrin, and metofluthrin be considered for further development. The vapor toxicity for the aforementioned compounds significantly exceeds prallethrin, which is currently market available as an adulticidal active ingredient in public health pest control.