This study evaluated the insecticidal activity of garlic, Allium sativum Linnaeus (Amaryllidaceae) essential oil and their principal constituents on Tenebrio molitor. Garlic essential oil, diallyl disulfide, and diallyl sulfide oil were used to compare the lethal and repellent effects on larvae, pupae and adults of T. molitor. Six concentrations of garlic essential oil and their principal const...

A wide range of insect repellent formulations, as well as active ingredients, are currently registered for use in Australia. While topical repellents are most common, there are also commercial products in the form of wristbands impregnated with botanical extracts that purport to repel mosquitoes. In laboratory tests, wristbands impregnated with peppermint oil were tested against the mosquito Ae...

The behaviour of insects is dictated by a combination of factors and may vary considerably between individuals, but small insects are often considered en masse and thus these differences can be overlooked. For example, the cowpea bruchid Callosobruchus maculatus F. exists naturally in two adult forms: the active (flight) form for dispersal, and the inactive (flightless), more fecund but shorter...

Demotispa neivai Bondar (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) damage oil palm fruits, which makes it necessary to develop products to control this insect. The mortality, repellency, and antifeeding effects on adults of D. neivai of six plant extracts of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. (Sapindales: Meliaceae), Ricinus communis (L.) (Malpighiaes: Euphorbiaceae), Citrus sinensis Oesbek (Sapindales: Rutaceae), N...

Olfactory sensory stimulation induces a fast-phase arrest response (FPA-R) of the blowfly heart activity that has been described as a sensitive tool for testing insect reactivity to odor perception. We analyzed FPA-R occurrence to repeated olfactory stimulation with low and high 1-hexanol concentrations that are behaviorally attractant and repellent, respectively, in the blowfly. FPA-R occurren...

Slit is a repellent axon guidance cue produced by the midline glia in Drosophila that is required to regulate the formation of contralateral projections and the lateral position of longitudinal tracts. Four sequence motifs comprise the structure of Slit: a leucine-rich repeat (LRR), epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) repeats, a laminin-like globular (G)-domain, and a cysteine domain. Here we de...

Pharaoh's ants organise their foraging system using three types of trail pheromone. All previous foraging models based on specific ant foraging systems have assumed that only a single attractive pheromone is used. Here we present an agent-based model based on trail choice at a trail bifurcation within the foraging trail network of a Pharaoh's ant colony which includes both attractive (positive)...

BACKGROUND Loxoscelism is a severe reaction to the bite of the spider Loxosceles laeta. In recent years, a paint with repellent properties has been promoted in the commerce. However, there are no reports of experiments evaluating its effectiveness. AIM To evaluate experimentally the repellent properties of a paint against Loxosceles laeta. MATERIAL AND METHODS Males, females and nymphs of L...

The availability of multiple sources of food and drink has a profound influence on choice behavior in rodents. It is not known how other taxa might respond to the same kind of variation in availability. We tested European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) with various combinations of unadulterated and repellent-treated (0.025% citronellyl acetate) resources. In Experiment 1, birds drank more plain t...

Insects under different stimuli from the environment modify behavioural responses due to changes in the sensitivity of neurons at the peripheral and/or at the central level of the nervous system. This phenomenon is called neuronal plasticity, and sensory adaptation is an example of it. An insect repellent is a chemical that produces oriented movements of the insects away from its source. In thi...