Evaluation of juvenile hormone analogues as rodent feed-through insecticides for control of immature phlebotomine sandflies

Abstract

Abstract. The juvenile hormone analogues methoprene and pyriproxyfen were evaluated as rodent feed-through insecticides for control of immature stages of the sandfly Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli (Diptera: Psychodidae). The development and survival of P. papatasi second-instar larvae fed faeces from Syrian hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus, that had been fed a diet containing methoprene (0, 9.788, 97.88 or 978.8 p.p.m.) or pyriproxyfen (0, 9.82, 98.2 or 982 p.p.m.) were evaluated. The faeces of methoprene-treated hamsters greatly reduced the percentage of larvae that pupated at all concentrations tested and prevented adult emergence at all but the lowest concentration (9.788 p.p.m.). Pyriproxyfen prevented both pupation and adult emergence at all concentrations tested. The results of this study suggest that a control strategy using rodent baits containing juvenile hormone analogues to control phlebotomine sandflies that live in rodent burrows and feed on rodent faeces may be possible. As rodent reservoirs and vectors of Leishmania major live in close association in many parts of the Middle East, control of the transmission of the agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis may also be possible.

Effects of pyriproxyfen and buprofezin on immature development and reproduction in the stable fly*

“…Pyriproxyfen has been shown previously to be effective against several blood-feeding insects, including mosquitoes (Mulla et al, 1986;Iwanaga & Kanda, 1988), sand flies (Mascari et al, 2010), triatomid bugs (Langley et al, 1990a), tsetse flies Langley et al, 1993) and horn flies (Bull & Meola, 1993). There has been only one previously published study in the literature that reported the interaction of pyriproxyfen with the stable fly (Bull & Meola, 1994), and no published work on the effectiveness of buprofezin against the stable fly.…”

Acetylcholinesterase of the sand fly, Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli): cDNA sequence, baculovirus expression, and biochemical properties

“…The sand-fly Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) is the vector of the flagellate protozoan Leishmania major that causes zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis [3-5] in Asia and Africa [1,6,7]. Various species of burrowing rodents are reservoir hosts of L. major and sand flies are closely associated with the rodent burrows making vector control by direct insecticidal application difficult to achieve [6,8-10]. Prevention of Leishmania spp.…”

A look into the Medical and Veterinary Entomology crystal ball

“…Alternative control methods against medically important insects have been studied, including rodent feed‐through insecticides for controlling immature forms of sand flies (Mascari et al. , ; Ingenloff et al. , ).…”