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26 September 2018 Composition and Toxicity of a Mixture of Essential Oils Against Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Thiago J. S. Alves, Ana Murcia, Andrea Carolina Wanumen, Valéria Wanderley-Teixeira, Álvaro A. C. Teixeira, Antonio Ortiz, Pilar Medina
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Abstract

A natural insecticide developed from the mixture of the essential oils (EOs) of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf (Poaceae), Cedrus atlantica (Endl.) Manetti ex Carriére (Pinaceae), and Corymbia citriodora (Hook.) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson (Myrtaceae) was studied. The mixture of oils caused high mortality (LD50 = 0.018 μl/insect) to the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera:Tephritidae), a globally important pest, after topical application on adults. Based on the chemical characterization of biopesticide using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, many of the constituents had known insecticidal properties (the monoterpenes α-citronellal and E-citral and the sesquiterpernes α-himachalene and β-himachalene, all at concentrations above 15%). Phytotoxicity tests on orange trees demonstrated that this natural product was harmless when the mixture was applied diluted in water with a surfactant. The mixture of EOs was also harmless (1, IOBC category) to the biological control agent responsible for reducing populations of tephritids, the parasitoid Psyttalia concolor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), following exposure to treated orange trees in a semifield assay within a greenhouse, but killed 46.2% of C. capitata (Szépligeti) adults after 72 h. Our results suggest that mixture of EOs has potential for use as an adulticide against medfly, although the production price was exceedingly high compared with that of commercial synthetic insecticides.Therefore, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages related to the potential use of this natural insecticide.

© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Thiago J. S. Alves, Ana Murcia, Andrea Carolina Wanumen, Valéria Wanderley-Teixeira, Álvaro A. C. Teixeira, Antonio Ortiz, and Pilar Medina "Composition and Toxicity of a Mixture of Essential Oils Against Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae)," Journal of Economic Entomology 112(1), 164-172, (26 September 2018). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toy275
Received: 29 January 2018; Accepted: 16 August 2018; Published: 26 September 2018
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KEYWORDS
biopesticide
GC-MS
LD50
medfly
Psyttalia concolor
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