INTRODUCTION Tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and ehrlichiosis are a significant concern for many thousands of workers who have frequent and unavoidable exposure to tick-infested habitats. Many North Carolina state employees with outdoor occupations report multiple tick bites each year, indicating that existing tick preventive strategies may be underutiliz...

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), also named pheromone-binding proteins when the odorant is a pheromone, are essential for insect olfaction. They solubilize odorants that reach the port of entry of the olfactory system, the pore tubules in antennae and other olfactory appendages. Then, OBPs transport these hydrophobic compounds through an aqueous sensillar lymph to receptors embedded on dendriti...

Plant-emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play important roles in plant-insect interactions. Atmospheric pollutants such as ozone (O3) can react with VOCs and affect the dynamics and fidelity of these interactions. However, the effects of atmospheric degradation of plant VOCs on plant-insect interactions remains understudied. We used a system comprising Brassica oleracea subsp. capitata (...

Correction After the publication of this work [1] it was brought to our attention that there were insufficient details given on the final composition of the experimental and control samples used in some experiments in this study. We would like to clarify that the statement made in the methods, “Final dilutions in physiological saline contained at most 0.1% DMSO and absolute ethanol” applies to ...

BACKGROUND Essential oils, as secondary plant compounds, present a safer alternative to conventional insecticides in insect control programs. So five essential oils including eucalyptus, mint, yarrow, oregano and rosemary oils were evaluated against the brown-banded cockroach Supella longipalpa. METHODS Evaluation was done against the 3rd and 4th instar nymphs using three bioassay methods; co...

A variety of insect and arachnid species are able to remain submerged in water indefinitely using plastron respiration. A plastron is a surface-retained film of air produced by surface morphology that acts as an oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange surface. Many highly water repellent and hydrophobic surfaces when placed in water exhibit a silvery sheen which is characteristic of a plastron. In this ...

Citrus hystrix DC. is a common herb in tropical regions. Its essential oils are now widely researched and applied because of their high economic value safety for humans interesting materials future trends. This review provides an extensive overview the biological activities C. oil, characterized predominantly by citronellal, ?-Pinene, sabinene, limonene, terpinene-4-ol, which deciding factors a...

Phytoncides, which are volatile substances emitted from plants for protection against plant pathogens and insects, are known to have insecticidal, antimicrobial, and antifungal activities. In contrast to their negative effects on microorganisms and insects, phytoncides have been shown to have beneficial effects on human health. Essential oil from Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) is mostly ...

A number of repellent compounds produced by plants elicit a spicy or pungent sensation in mammals . In several cases, this has been found to occur through activation of ion channels in the transient receptor potential (TRP) family . We report that isothiocyanate (ITC), the pungent ingredient of wasabi, is a repellent to the insect Drosophila melanogaster, and that the painless gene, previously ...

A topical solution containing 65% permethrin (EXspot, Schering-Plough Animal Health Corp., Union, NJ) was evaluated for repellency and insecticidal activity against the phlebotomine sandfly, Phlebotomus perniciosus (Diptera: Psychodidae). Four dogs were sedated and individually exposed to 100 female P. perniciosus inside a cage. Two of the dogs were treated on Day 0 with the permethrin solution...