Phlebotomus papatasi, a vector of Leishmania protozoans causing leishmaniasis in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Southern Asia, poses a significant threat to local populations, and deployed U.S. military personnel. Leishmaniasis is prevented by minimizing exposure to sand fly bites by mechanical barriers, pesticide-impregnated uniforms, and personal repellents such as DEET. Insecticides are utilized, but effectiveness of available insecticide is limited, and dependent on application method and environmental conditions. Risk of human toxicity limits insecticide use as indoor residual sprays. This highlights the need to develop safe and effective repellents and insecticides for use in integrated sand fly control programs. Many essential oils are repellent or insecticidal and several are conditionally exempt from United States Environmental Protection Agency registration as minimum risk pesticide products under the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Part 152.25, paragraph f. This study evaluated essential oils listed as U.S. minimum risk pesticide products against P. papatasi in comparison to DEET. Lemongrass, corn mint, cinnamon, citronella, clove, and spearmint oils and their components (trans-cinnamaldehyde, citronellal, citral, geraniol, N-propyl d-camphor lactam, EZ-nepetalactone, citronellal, diethyl (2-methylally) phosphonate and menthol) exhibited greater repellency to P. papatasi than DEET, and menthol, citronellal, and citral were insecticidal. Listing of these essential oils as minimum risk pesticides indicates they pose little risk to human health or the environment. Further testing of these essential oils is warranted to protect humans and animals from bites and disease-causing agent transmission by sand flies and other insect disease vectors.
We describe for the first time the complete life cycle of the Neotropical tiger moth Cosmosoma thoracicum Schaus 1905, based on three individuals, one male and two females, reared at the Finca Las Piedras field station (Madre de Dios, Peru), as well as the first record of this species’ host plant. Three eggs collected in their natural habitat went through seven larval stages (male) and five and seven larval stages (females). All individuals fed on Lasiacis ligulata Hitchcock Chase, 1917 (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Panaceae), which is the first Poaceae recorded as a host plant for the genus Cosmosoma Hübner, [1823]. We also propose Poecilosoma mapirense Strand, 1915 as a new synonym for C. thoracicum and document both the species’ previously undescribed female genitalia and geographical distribution in Peru. Finally, we provide genetic sequence information for the DNA barcode region (COI) derived from two individuals of C. thoracicum.
Understanding the dietary habits of Neotropical primates is essential for elucidating trophic interactions and energy flow within tropical ecosystems. In this study, we report the first documented case of predation of the fulgorid planthopper Phenax variegata (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) by Wied’s marmoset, Callithrix kuhlii (Primates: Callitrichidae), a small-bodied primate endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. The observation occurred during primate behavioral monitoring in a heterogeneous landscape composed of native forest, agroforestry systems (cabrucas), and mangrove fragments in Ilhéus, Bahia. A group of C. kuhlii was observed foraging in the canopy when one individual captured and consumed an unidentified insect. The wings were deliberately detached by the marmoset and fell to the ground. One forewing was subsequently recovered and identified in the laboratory as belonging to P. variegata. This is the first record of a primate preying upon a species of Fulgoridae, a group of sap-feeding hemipterans with important ecological roles in forest environments. Although insectivory is known in Callithrix, species-level records of insect prey remain scarce, particularly for C. kuhlii, largely due to observational limitations. This observation documents a previously unreported trophic interaction and raises the possibility that fulgorids may be included among the arthropod prey consumed by C. kuhlii. Additional observations are required to determine the frequency and nutritional significance of this interaction. Opportunistic records such as this can provide useful baseline information for future studies of primate feeding behavior and canopy-level trophic interactions.
Insecticide resistance and finding a non-toxic insecticide are among the foremost challenges in controlling vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. α-Pyrone scaffolds are well-known for their multifunctionality and versatility in biological responses, including antivirals, analgesics, antimalarials, antifungals, and mosquitocidals, among other applications. A new pyranone-based tertiary amide was synthesized, and the acid chloride route was used to convert the pyrone acid into an acid chloride with oxalyl chloride and catalytic DMF in DCM. Before isolating the acid chloride, the secondary amines were treated to yield the final compound, a pyrone-based tertiary amide, with 95
The insecticides used in vector control primarily aim to manage the vector population, but the residual and long-term effects on the population that survives the onslaught indirectly hampers the vector control programme. Understanding mosquito biology, life cycle, and resistance mechanisms is vital for minimizing resistance impact in control interventions. In this study, the susceptible population of Aedes albopictus was selected repeatedly with deltamethrin for 10 generations and an increase in resistance ratio value by 22.8 folds was observed. The obtained resistant and susceptible mosquito populations differed significantly in monooxygenase and beta-esterase activities, suggesting a major role of metabolic detoxification mechanism in generating resistance which was further confirmed by the decrease in tolerance ratio (TR50) in the highly resistant mosquito by synergist piperonyl butoxide (PBO). Over-expression of a monooxygenase gene, CYP6P12 also gave strong evidence of metabolic resistance. A significant extension in larval development time (12 days), reduced hatchability (42.3
