Insecticidal Potential of Two Sugar Alcohols to Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae)

Abstract

Pest management plans for house flies, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae), often include insecticides. Because of resistance and environmental concerns with traditional insecticides, safe new pesticides and pesticide formulations are needed. The insecticidal potential of two sugar alcohols, xylitol and erythritol, against adult house flies was assessed. Flies consumed both xylitol and erythritol. The proportion of flies that exhibited the proboscis extension reflex, which is associated with feeding, did not differ significantly between the sugar alcohols and sucrose in an experiment with 20% solutions and older flies, but was less for the sugar alcohols in an experiment with 2M solutions and younger flies. When presented alone or mixed with sucrose, both sugar alcohols significantly decreased fly survival relative to just sucrose. There was a strong negative relationship with concentration and mean days survived for xylitol, but no significant relationship for erythritol or sucrose. Relative to sucrose alone, a temporary exposure to xylitol, but not to erythritol, decreased survival when sucrose was subsequently available. Although xylitol and erythritol can both decrease survival of house flies and would meet the criteria for organic farming, deaths were often not very immediate. However, continued investigation of a variety of sweeteners as feeding-stimulant alternatives to sucrose is still useful, to minimize the risk of house flies evolving resistance to the sugar in baits. Our analysis of already published data on house flies that had been repeatedly exposed to a sucrose-based bait is consistent with the evolution of sucrose-feeding avoidance.

Lethal effects of erythritol on the mosquito Aedes aegypti Linnaeus (Diptera: Culicidae)

“…In addition to mosquitoes, erythritol may impact other dipteran pests. Including this study, four species representing four different families of Diptera (Drosophilidae, Tephritidae, Muscidae, and Culicidae) have shown susceptibility to erythritol (Baudier et al., ; Burgess & King, ; Choi et al., ; Fisher et al., ; Goffin et al., ; O'Donnell et al., , ; Sampson, Werle, et al., ; Sampson, Marshall et al., ; Tang et al., ; Zheng et al., ). One hymenopteran (Formicidae) has also shown susceptibility to erythritol (Zhang et al., ).…”

“…albopictus is a competent vector of dengue, although slightly less efficient in transmission than Ae. aegypti (Gratz, 2004 have shown susceptibility to erythritol (Baudier et al, 2014;Burgess & King, 2017;Choi et al, 2017;Fisher et al, 2017;Goffin et al, 2017;O'Donnell et al, 2016O'Donnell et al, , 2018Sampson, Marshall et al, 2017;Tang et al, 2017;Zheng et al, 2016). One hymenopteran (Formicidae) has also shown susceptibility to erythritol (Zhang et al, 2017).…”

“…It also impairs egg production in adult D. melanogaster (O'Donnell et al, 2018). The negative effects of erythritol on survival in adults and/or larvae have been replicated in other dipteran species including the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel (Zheng, Zeng, & Xu, 2016), the spotted wing drosophila, D. suzukii Matsumura Goffin et al, 2017;Sampson, Marshall, et al, 2017;Tang, Lee, Jung, & Choi, 2017) and the house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus (Burgess & King, 2017;Fisher, Fowler, Denning, & Watson, 2017). The longevity of the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta Buren, a hymenopteran, is also negatively impacted by erythritol (Zhang, Chen, Li, & Xu, 2017).…”

Larvicidal potential of the polyol sweeteners erythritol and xylitol in two filth fly species

“…The polyol sweeteners erythritol (Er) and xylitol (Xy) have gained attention in recent years for their insecticidal potential against Drosophila melanogaster (O'Donnell et al ), the spotted wing Drosophila, D. suzukii (Sampson et al , Choi et al , Tang et al ), and the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Zheng et al 2015). Both Er and Xy have also been considered for control purposes in the house fly, Musca domestica (Fisher et al , Burgess and King , Burgess et al ). Xy has shown particular promise for reducing adult fly longevity in water solutions (Burgess and King ), while Er appeared to be a good candidate for combination with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana to control adults (Burgess et al ).…”

“…Both Er and Xy have also been considered for control purposes in the house fly, Musca domestica (Fisher et al 2017, Burgess and King 2017, Burgess et al 2018. Xy has shown particular promise for reducing adult fly longevity in water solutions (Burgess and King 2017), while Er appeared to be a good candidate for combination with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana to control adults (Burgess et al 2018).…”