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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Invasive Insect Biocontrol & Behavior Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #368071
Research Project: Prevention of Arthropod Bites

Location: Invasive Insect Biocontrol & Behavior Laboratory

Title: Toxicity of methyl benzoate and analogs to adult Aedes aegypti

Author
item LARSON, NICHOLAS - Towson University
item NEGA, MAHALET - Collaborator
item Zhang, Aijun
item Feldlaufer, Mark

Submitted to: Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/12/2020
Publication Date: 7/13/2021
Citation: Larson, N.R., Nega, M., Zhang, A., Feldlaufer, M.F. 2021. Toxicity of methyl benzoate and analogs to adult Aedes aegypti. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 37(2):83-86.

Interpretive Summary: Mosquitoes transmit a variety of pathogens, including viruses, protozoans, and nematodes, and new chemistries are constantly needed for adult mosquito control to combat both chemical resistance to pesticides currently used, and to reduce our reliance on synthetic pesticides. We have shown in the laboratory that a natural product and its analogs are toxic when topically-applied to adult female mosquitoes, so this new chemistry may have a role in adult mosquito control. The laboratory mosquito used in these studies is found in the United States and transmits a variety of human viruses of concern. This information will be useful to those individuals and companies involved in designing and using new adult mosquito control products.

Technical Abstract: Methyl benzoate is a natural product (floral volatile organic compound) that is currently used as a food flavoring ingredient. This compound has shown to be insecticidal in laboratory studies against spotted wing drosophila Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål), the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (L.) and the common bed bug Cimex lectularius L., to name several insect taxa. In this study we treat adult Aedes aegypti L. females with methyl benzoate and analogs and determine their toxicities. We found that amongst adult female Ae. aegypti, four analogs - namely butyl benzoate, n-pentyl benzoate, vinyl benzoate, and methyl 3-methoxybenzoate - were highly toxic and more toxic than the parent compound, methyl benzoate.