Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T12:24:44.767Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Mechanism of Action of a Contact Insecticide

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

D. N. Roy
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Entomology, School of Tropical Medicine, Calcutta.
S. M. Ghosh
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Entomology, School of Tropical Medicine, Calcutta.

Extract

In order to determine the method of entry of a contact insecticide such as pyrethrum into the body of an insect, studies were undertaken which showed that:—

(a) The rapid penetration of the insecticide into the body cannot be effected through the cuticle.

(b) When a mosquito has been sprayed with a mixture of pyrethrum extract and oleic acid, the deposition of fat globules around the tracheal trunks is a characteristic feature; this suggests that rapid diffusion of the insecticide takes place through the tracheal wall.

(c) Experiments on flies with their spiracles closed indicate that the absorption of pyrethrum, either in the liquid and powdered states, was very slow. This fact indicates that normally pyrethrum enters the body through the spiracle.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1944

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bredenkamp, J. (1942). Zur Kenntnis der Wirkungsweise der Kontaktgifte mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Permeabilität der Insektencuticula.—Z. angew. Ent., 28, p. 519. (Abstract in Rev. appl. Ent. (A) 30, p. 512.)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christophers, S. R. (1906). The anatomy and histology of ticks.—Sci. Mem. med. sanit. Dep. India, no. 23.Google Scholar
Hartzell, A. & Wilcoxon, F. (1932). Chemical and toxicological studies of pyrethrum.—Contr. Boyce Thompson Inst., 4, p. 107.Google Scholar
Hockenyos, G. L. (1931). Rearing house-flies for testing contact insecticides.—J. econ. Ent., 24, p. 717.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurst, H. (1940). Permeability of insect cuticle.—Nature, 145, p. 462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morozov, S. F. (1935). The penetration of contact insecticides. Part I. Methods of investigation and general properties of the cuticle with regard to its permeability [In Russian.]—Plant Prot., 1935 fasc. 6 p. 38. (Abstract in R.A.E. (A) 24, p. 587.)Google Scholar
O'Kane, W. C., Glover, L. C., Blickle, B. L. & Parker, B. M. (1940). Penetration of certain liquids through the pronotum of the American Roach. Studies on contact insecticides XIV.—Tech. Bull. N. H. agric. Exp. Sta., no. 74.Google Scholar
Robinson, G. G. (1942). The penetration of pyrethrum through the cuticle of the tick, Ornithodorus moubata Murray (Argasidae).—Parasitology, 34, p. 113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roy, D. N., Ghosh, S. M. & Chopra, R. N. (1943). The mode of action of pyrethrum on the cockroach, Periplaneta americana, L.—Ann. appl. Biol., 30, p. 42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wigglesworth, V. B. (1941). The effect of pyrethrum on the spiracular mechanism of insects.—Proc. R. ent. Soc. Lond., (A) 16, p. 11.Google Scholar
Wigglesworth, V. B. (1942). Some notes on the integument of insects in relation to the entry of contact insecticides.—Bull. ent. Res., 33, p. 205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar