Chemical Profiles and Lethal Toxicities of Native Botanical Insecticides for the Control of Musca domestica Linnaeus and Stomoxys indicus Picard (Diptera: Muscidae) in Songkhla Province, Thailand

Livestock farming is currently reducing the use of synthetic insecticides because of the development of resistance in insect pests. Plant-based bioinsecticides are considered alternatives to synthetic pesticides. Therefore, the present study investigated the chemical composition and discriminating concentrations (DCs) of essential oils from Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. and L. M. Perry (SA), Cinnamomum porrectum (Roxb.) Kosterm (CP), and Litsea cubeba (Loureiro) Persoon (LC) against laboratory-reared Musca domestica (larvae and adults) and field-derived Stomoxys indicus (adults) using larval dip and adult contact bioassays. All essential oils were analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. The most common components in the SA, CP, and LC oils were eugenol, safrole, and terpenoids, respectively. The results of a larval test indicated that CP was most effective against M. domestica with a DC of 6.134% v/v. In adult bioassays, CP was also the most toxic oil against M. domestica (DC = 30.644% v/v), whereas SA displayed the greatest toxicity against S. indicus (DC = 1.434% v/v). Moreover, in the larval bioassay results of oils tested at 1, 5, and 10% v/v in M. domestica, 1% and 5% v/v CP had the shortest median lethal times values of 68.88 and 19.44 min, respectively, whereas, at 10% v/v, SA displayed the shortest median lethal time (0.03 min), followed by CP (1.74 min) and LC (19.02 min). However, additional data are needed to further evaluate the semi-field and field effects of CP and SA on M. domestica and S. indicus under realistic operational conditions.

Automated summary

Livestock farming is reducing the use of synthetic insecticides due to insect pests' resistance. Plant-based bioinsecticides are being considered as alternatives. This study investigated the effectiveness of essential oils from Syzygium aromaticum, Cinnamomum porrectum, and Litsea cubeba against Musca domestica and Stomoxys indicus. The results showed that Cinnamomum porrectum was the most effective against Musca domestica, while Syzygium aromaticum was the most toxic to Stomoxys indicus. However, more data is needed to evaluate their effects under realistic conditions.