ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF CHITIN SYNTHESIS INHIBITORS AGAINST MALAYSIAN Aedes albopictus SKUSE LARVAE

Noor Izuddin Nureen-Afrina, Navindra Kumari Palanisamy, Mohd Nasir Nadzimah, Mohamad Rodi Isa, Asri Lailatul-Nadhirah, Othman Wan-Norafikah

Abstract


Insect growth regulators (IGRs) are insecticides that hinder the growth and reproduction of insects including mosquitoes by imitating hormones in their immature stages. IGRs from the type of chitin synthesis inhibitors (CSIs) impede the moulting and growing of insect larvae by disrupting their chitin synthesis. The effectiveness of three CSIs namely diflubenzuron, novaluron and cyromazine in causing the mortality among several populations of Aedes albopictus larvae were evaluated via the larval bioassays. Emergence inhibition at 50% of the population (EI50) values of these three CSIs for Ae. albopictus reference strain larvae were initially obtained through the larval bioassays conducted using late third instar larvae at several concentrations that caused mortalities between 5% and 95%. These EI50 values of the reference strain were then applied on the field populations of the same larval species. Emergence inhibition percentage (EI%) was then calculated for each Ae. albopictus population tested. All Ae. albopictus populations showed EI% of more than 50% upon exposure to diflubenzuron, novaluron and cyromazine, indicating the effectiveness of these CSIs in controlling Ae. albopictus larvae at the study sites. These findings validate the potential use of these CSIs as alternative insecticides for mosquito control programmes in the future. However, the usage of CSIs and other types of IGRs by the public, needs to be monitored in order to avoid any resistance development among local Ae. albopictus larvae against IGRs


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References


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