Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
Author(s): Mi-Jin Sim , Dong-Ro Choi , and Young-Joon Ahn
Source: Journal of Economic Entomology, 99(2):593-598. 2006.
Published By: Entomological Society of America
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0022-0493-99.2.593
URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1603/0022-0493-99.2.593
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STORED-PRODUCT
KEY WORDS Cadra cautella, natural insecticide, natural fumigant, essential oil, mode of action
The almond moth, Cadra cautella Walker, is one of the phosphorus insecticides, such as chlorpyrifos-methyl
most economically important stored-product pests. If and dichlorvos, will be phased out in the near future
not managed properly, this insect causes serious dam- in the United States by the Environmental Protection
age directly from larval feeding on a variety of dried Agency (EPA), under the 1996 Food Quality and
fruits and stored vegetable matter (Sedlacek et al. Protection Act (Anonymous 2002). Also, the use of
1996). Additionally, frass and silk-Þlled larval galleries methyl bromide will be prohibited in the near future
cause signiÞcant contamination of the commodity because of its ozone depletion potential (Anonymous
(Sedlacek et al. 1996). Control of C. cautella popula- 1993). These problems have highlighted the need for
tions worldwide is primarily dependent on repeated development of selective control alternatives for C.
applications of contact insecticides as space and struc- cautella, particularly with fumigant action for ease of
tural treatments or as protectants, and on fumigants application to breeding places of the larvae.
such as methyl bromide and phosphine (White and Plant essential oils may provide potential alterna-
Leesch 1995). Although effective, their repeated use tives to currently used insect control agents because
has disrupted biological control systems and led to they contain a potential source of bioactive chemicals
outbreaks of some insect species (Brower et al. 1996) and are commonly used as fragrances and as ßavoring
and has often resulted in the development of resis- agents for foods and beverages (Isman 2001, Sellar
tance (Champ and Dyte 1977, Subramanyam and Hag- 2001, Lawless 2002). Because of this, much effort has
strum 1995, White and Leesch 1995) and had unde- been focused on plant essential oils or their constit-
sirable effects on nontarget organisms (Brower et al. uents as potential sources of commercial insect con-
1996). Increasing levels of resistance to the most com- trol agents. Little work has been done to manage C.
monly used insecticides have caused multiple and cautella by using plant essential oils, although efÞcacy
overdosed treatments, fostering safety issues for hu- of essential oils against stored-product insects has
man health by residue in stored products and serious been well described by Singh and Upadhyay (1993),
environmental concerns (Hayes and Laws 1991, Ho (2001), and Kim et al. (2001).
White and Leesch 1995). Commonly used organo- This article describes a laboratory study to assess the
potential of plant essential oils for use as commercial
1 National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, Suwon insecticides. Toxicities of 44 commercially available
440-707, Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea. essential oils were examined against C. cautella larvae.
2 E-mail: yjahn@snu.ac.kr. Contact and fumigant toxicities of the essential oils
were compared with those of chlorpyrifos-methyl, 50 l of ethanol. After drying in a fume hood for 2 min,
diazinon, dichlorvos, and fenthion. Larvicide route of each Þlter paper was placed on the bottom of a petri
action of the essential oils also was investigated. dish (5 by 0.9 cm). Groups of 20 larvae were placed in
each petri dish and a small amount of the artiÞcial diet
was supplied. The container was then covered with a
Materials and Methods
lid.
Materials. Forty-four plant essential oils used in this Treated and control (ethanol only) larvae were
study were purchased from Berjè (BloomÞeld, NJ) held at the same conditions used for colony mainte-
and are listed in Table 1. Chlorpyrifos-methyl (95.6% nance. Mortalities were determined 1, 2, and 3 d after
purity), diazinon (96% purity), dichlorvos (95% pu- treatment (DAT). All treatments were replicated
rity), and fenthion (95.6% purity) were obtained from three times. Chlorpyrifos-methyl, diazinon, dichlor-
the Department of Agricultural Biology, National In- vos, and fenthion served as standards for comparison
stitute of Agricultural Science and Technology, Rural in contact toxicity tests. The lethal activity was clas-
Development Administration, Suwon, Gyeonggi Prov- siÞed as follows: strong, mortality ⬎80%; moderate,
ince. All other chemicals were of reagent grade. mortality 80 Ð 61%; weak, mortality 60 Ð 40%; and little
Insects. Cultures of C. cautella were maintained in or no activity, mortality ⬍40%.
the laboratory for 5 yr without exposure to any known Vapor Phase Toxicity Bioassay. Fumigant activity of
insecticide. They were reared in plastic containers (23 the test essential oils and insecticides against C. cau-
by 17 by 12 cm) containing sterilized artiÞcial diet tella larvae (12Ð14 d old after hatching) was investi-
(150 g of corn meal, 50 g of corn powder, 50 g of wheat gated by the vapor phase toxicity bioassay. Groups of
ßour, 2 g of dried yeast, 2 g of vitamin complex, and 50 20 larvae were placed in each container (5 by 0.9 cm),
ml by weight glycerin) at 25 ⫾ 1⬚C and 45Ð50% RH. and a small amount of the artiÞcial diet was provided.
Under these conditions, longevities of eggs, larvae, Both sides were then covered with 200-mesh screen to
pupae, and adults of C. cautella were 4 Ð 6, 16 Ð21, 8 Ð12, allow free entrance of vapors from the essential oils
and 6 Ð10 d, respectively. and insecticides. Each Þlter paper (Whatman no. 2,
Contact Toxicity Bioassay. A Þlter paper contact 4.25 cm in diameter), treated with Þve to seven con-
bioassay was used to evaluate the toxicity of plant centrations of each essential oil and insecticide in 50
essential oils and insecticides used against C. cautella l of ethanol, was placed on the bottom of a polyvinyl
larvae (12Ð14 d old after hatching). Test larvae sur- chloride container (620 ml). The container was then
vived for ⬎3 d without food. In a preliminary exper- covered with gauze, onto which the screened con-
iment with larvae, 11.8 mg/cm2 was found to be an tainer containing larvae was placed. This prevented
appropriate starting concentration for a primary direct contact of test larvae with the test oil and in-
screening of insecticidal activity of plant essential oils. secticide. Each polyvinyl chloride container was then
Larvae were exposed to three amounts of essential oils covered with a convex-shaped lid. Control Þlter pa-
(11.8, 4.7, and 2.4 mg/cm2), each of which was dis- pers received 50 l of ethanol.
solved in 50 l of ethanol and applied to Þlter papers In a separate experiment, susceptibility of C. cau-
(Whatman no. 2, 4.25 cm in diameter). If an essential tella larvae (12Ð14 d old after hatching) to the action
oil gave ⬎80% mortality at 11.8 mg/cm2, further bio- of the test essential oils in the vapor phase was exam-
assays were carried out. Control Þlter papers received ined as described above. Each Þlter paper was treated
April 2006 SIM ET AL.: ESSENTIAL OIL TOXICITY TO C. cautella 595
Table 2. Mortalities of essential oils against C. cautella larvae Table 3. Mortalities of selected essential oils against C. cautella
by using the filter paper contact toxicity bioassay, exposed to 11.8 larvae by using the filter paper contact toxicity bioassay, exposed
mg/cm2 to 4.7 mg/cm2
Table 5. Mortalities of selected essential oils against C. cautella diazinon, and fenthion. There was no mortality of
larvae by using the vapor phase toxicity bioassay during a 24-h ethanol-treated larvae during the vapor phase toxicity
exposure
bioassay.
Mortality
Essential Concn, (mean ⫾ SE)a (%)
oil mg/liter air Discussion
Ab Bb
Cypress 414.4 91 ⫾ 3.3 3 ⫾ 2.5***
Plant essential oils have potential as natural prod-
Galbanum 414.4 93 ⫾ 3.1 2 ⫾ 1.7*** ucts for controlling C. cautella larvae because some are
Niaouli 322.6 100 ⫾ 0.0 5 ⫾ 3.1*** selective to certain pests, often biogdegrade to non-
Rosemary 322.6 100 ⫾ 0.0 8 ⫾ 3.3*** toxic products, and have few or no harmful effects on
nontarget organisms or the environment (Singh and
*** SigniÞcantly different at P ⱕ 0.001, according to a paired t-test.
a
n ⫽ 60.
Upadhyay 1993; Barton 1999; Isman 2000, 2001). They
b
A, vapor in closed containers; B, vapor in open containers. can be applied to stored products in the same way as
other conventional insecticides. They also provide
useful information on resistance management because
Chlorpyrifos-methyl and dichlorvos produced 100% certain plant extracts or phytochemicals can be highly
mortality 1 DAT, whereas diazinon and fenthion gave effective against insecticide-resistant pests (Schmut-
terer 1992, Ahn et al. 1997). In addition, some essential
100% mortality 2 and 3 DAT, respectively.
oils or their constituents have been proposed as al-
Larvicide Route of Action. Experiments were con-
ternatives to commonly used insecticides such as
ducted to determine whether the lethal activity of chlorpyrifos-methyl, dichlorvos, and methyl bromide
essential oils used against C. cautella larvae was attrib- because they were exempted for minimum risk pes-
uted to contact or vapor phase toxicity. Two different ticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
treatment methods (A and B) were tested (Table 5). Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requirements (Anonymous
Responses varied with treatment methods. After 24 h 1996). Many essential oils are known to possess various
of exposure to 414.4 mg/liter air, there was a signiÞcant bioefÞcacies such as ovicidal, repellent, antifeedant,
difference in lethal activity of cypress oil between and biocidal activities against various stored-product
exposure in a closed container (method A), which insects (Hill and Schoonhoven 1981; Singh and Up-
resulted in 91% mortality, and exposure in open con- adhyay 1993; Desmarchelier 1994; Ho 2001; Kim et al.
tainer (method B), which resulted in 3% mortality 2001, 2003a, b). El-Nahal et al. (1989) stated that the
against C. cautella larvae. Similar differences in the exposure period seemed to be more important factor
response of C. cautella larvae to galbanum, niaouli, and affecting the efÞciency of the vapors of Acorus calamus
rosemary oils in treatments A and B were likewise L. essential oil than the dosage to adults of Þve stored-
observed. product insects. Some plant-derived materials were
Vapor Phase Toxicity. Fumigant action of cypress, effective against insects for only a relatively short
galbanum, niaouli, and rosemary oils against C. cautella period, typically a few days (Schmutterer 1992). In the
larvae was elucidated by the vapor phase toxicity bio- current study, toxic effects varied according to plant
material used and exposure dose and time. Potent
assay (Table 6). Chlorpyrifos-methyl, diazinon, di-
lethal activity against C. cautella larvae was observed
chlorvos, and fenthion served as standards for com-
with armoise, buchu leaf, cypress, galbanum, mace,
parison in fumigant toxicity tests. As judged by 24-h niaouli, and rosemary oils. The lethal action of ar-
LC50 values, potent fumigant toxicity was produced moise, galbanum, and mace oils was very rapid. The
from niaouli oil (64.7 mg/liter air) and rosemary oil lethal action of buchu leaf oil was slower, and 96%
(64.6 mg/liter air). Cypress and galbanum oils exhib- mortality was only obtained 3 DAT, whereas lethal
ited weak activity. These essential oils were less active action of cypress, niaouli, and rosemary oils was in-
than dichlorvos (0.86 mg/liter air). Little or no fumi- termediate. Mixtures of these essential oils might be
gant action was observed with chlorpyrifos-methyl, effective against C. cautella over a relatively long pe-
riod. Killing effects of the test essential oils against C.
cautella larvae seemed to be not attributed to anti-
feedant effects but to direct toxicity on the basis of the
Table 6. Fumigant toxicity of selected essential oils and insec-
ticides to C. cautella larvae by using the vapor phase toxicity Þnding that larvae survived for ⬎3 d without food.
bioassay during a 24-h exposure Elucidation of the mode of action of natural insec-
ticidal products or insecticides is important for insect
LC50, control because it may give useful information on the
Material n Slope ⫾ SE 95% CL
mg/liter air
most appropriate formulation, delivery means, and
Cypress oil 180 6.6 ⫾ 1.63 196.9 183.6Ð214.2 resistance management. Many plant essential oils have
Galbanum oil 240 7.2 ⫾ 1.23 240.3 226.5Ð262.8 fumigant action (El-Nahal et al. 1989; Shaaya et al.
Niaouli oil 180 6.3 ⫾ 1.44 64.7 58.6Ð73.2
Rosemary oil 180 4.7 ⫾ 0.71 64.6 57.2Ð71.5 1997; Ahn et al. 1998; Kim et al. 2003a, b). The essential
Chlorpyrifos-methyl 60 ⬎600 oil of the sawdust from Thujopsis dolabrata Siebold et
Diazinon 60 ⬎600 Zuccarni variety hondai Makino is highly toxic to
Dichlorvos 240 10.8 ⫾ 1.70 0.86 0.81Ð0.90 nymphs of Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe), and adults
Fenthion 60 ⬎600
of Sitophilus oryzae (L.), Callosobruchus chinensis
April 2006 SIM ET AL.: ESSENTIAL OIL TOXICITY TO C. cautella 597
(L.), and Lasioderma serricorne (F.) and acts as a Brower, J. H., L. Smith, P. V. Vail, and P. W. Flinn. 1996.
fumigant (Ahn et al. 1998). In the current study, cy- Biological control, pp. 223Ð286. In B. Subramanyam and
press, galbanum, niaouli, and rosemary oils were much D. W. Hagstrum [eds.], Integrated management of in-
more effective in closed versus open containers sects in stored products. Marcel Dekker, New York.
against C. cautella larvae. These results indicate that Champ, B. R., and C. E. Dyte. 1977. FAO global survey of
pesticide susceptibility of stored grain pests. FAO Plant
the route of action for the oils was largely in the vapor
Prot. Bull. 25: 49 Ð 67.
phase via the respiratory system, although the exact Desmarchelier, J. H. 1994. Grain protectants: trends and
mode of action of these oils remains unknown. Par- developments, pp. 722Ð728. In E. Highley, E. J. Wright,
ticularly, niaouli and rosemary oils showed potent H. J. Banks and B. R. Champ [eds.], Stored product
fumigant activity, but they were less effective than protection. CAB International, Wallingford, United King-
dichlorvos. Neither chlorpyrifos-methyl, diazinon, dom.
nor fenthion exhibited fumigant action. The fumigant El-Nahal, A.K.M., G. H. Schmidt, and E. M. Risha. 1989.
action of essential oils could be a great advantage for Vapours of Acorus calamus oil-a space treatment for
controlling C. cautella populations in stored products. stored-product insects. J. Stored Prod. Res. 25: 211Ð216.
Results of this study indicate that niaouli and rose- Hayes, W. J., Jr., and E. R. Laws, Jr. 1991. Handbook of
pesticide toxicology, vol. 1. Academic, San Diego, CA.
mary oils may be useful as insect control fumigants for
Hill, J. M., and A. V. Schoonhoven. 1981. The use of vege-
C. cautella, provided that a carrier producing a slow- table oils in controlling insect infestations in stored grains
release effect can be selected or developed. Rosemary and pulses. Recent Adv. Food Sci. Technol. 1: 473Ð 481.
oil is found as a minimum risk pesticide product under Ho, S. H. 2001. Bioactivity of plant-derived compounds
FIFRA and is exempt from toxicity data requirements against insect pests, pp. 13Ð21. In International sympo-
by the EPA (Anonymous 1996). For practical use of sium on development of natural pesticides from forest
these oils as novel fumigants to proceed, further re- resources, Korea Forest Research Institute, Seoul, Re-
search is required on safety issues for human health. public of Korea.
Other areas requiring attention are insecticidal con- Isman, M. B. 2000. Plant essential oils for pest and disease
stituents against C. cautella larvae from the essential management. Crop Prot. 19: 603Ð 608.
Isman, M. B. 2001. Pesticides based on plant essential oils
oils and formulations to improve the insecticidal po-
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Acknowledgments Kim, S. I., W. I. Choi, and Y. J. Ahn. 2001. Insecticidal
activity of aromatic plant extracts and essential oils and
This work was supported by grants from the Rural De-
their constituents against stored-product insect pests, pp.
velopment Administration (20050301-033-202-055-02-00)
113Ð131. In International symposium on development of
and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources De-
natural pesticides from forest resources, Korea Forest
velopment for Brain Korea 21 Project of the Korean Gov-
Research Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
ernment to Y.J.A.
Kim, S. I., C. Park, M. H. Ohh, H. C. Cho, and Y. J. Ahn.
2003a. Contact and fumigant activities of aromatic plant
extracts and essential oils against Lasioderma serricorne
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