Oral and Topical Insecticide Response Bioassays and Associated Statistical Analyses Used Commonly in Veterinary and Medical Entomology. Issue 6 (2nd November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Burgess, Edwin R; King, Bethia H; Geden, Christopher J
• Editors: Machtinger, Erika
• Is Part Of: Journal of insect science. Volume 20:Issue 6(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-11-02
• Subjects: toxicology -- R programming -- probit analysis -- pesticide -- house fly; Insects -- Periodicals; Entomology -- Periodicals; Arthropoda -- Periodicals; Insects; Arthropods; Biology; Ecology; Entomologie -- Périodiques; Entomology; Insects; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 595.05
• DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/ieaa041
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1536-2442

Abstract

Abstract: Veterinary and medical entomologists who are involved in research on pest control often need to perform dose–response bioassays and analyze the results. This article is meant as a beginner's guide for doing this and includes instructions for using the free program R for the analyses. The bioassays and analyses are described using previously unpublished data from bioassays on house flies, Musca domestica Linnaeus (Diptera: Muscidae), but can be used on a wide range of pest species. Flies were exposed topically to beta-cyfluthrin, a pyrethroid, or exposed to spinosad or spinetoram in sugar to encourage consumption. LD50 values for beta-cyfluthrin in a susceptible strain were similar regardless of whether mortality was assessed at 24 or 48 h, consistent with it being a relatively quick-acting insecticide. Based on LC50 values, spinetoram was about twice as toxic as spinosad in a susceptible strain, suggesting a benefit to formulating spinetoram for house fly control, although spinetoram was no more toxic than spinosad for a pyrethroid-resistant strain. Results were consistent with previous reports of spinosad exhibiting little cross-resistance. For both spinosad and spinetoram, LC50 values were not greatly different between the pyrethroid-resistant strain and the susceptible strain.