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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #371947
Research Project: Improved Surveillance and Control of Stable Flies, House Flies, and Other Filth Flies

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Oral and topical insecticide response bioassays and associated statistical analyses used commonly in veterinary and medical entomology

Author
item BURGESS, EDWIN - Northern Illinois University
item KING, BETHIA - Northern Illinois University
item Geden, Christopher - Chris

Submitted to: Journal of Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2020
Publication Date: 11/2/2020
Citation: Burgess, E.R., King, B.H., Geden, C.J. 2020. Oral and topical insecticide response bioassays and associated statistical analyses used commonly in veterinary and medical entomology. Journal of Insect Science. 20(6):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieaa041.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieaa041

Interpretive Summary: Veterinary and medical entomologists who are involved in research on pest control often need to perform dose response bioassays and analyze the results. In this paper, researchers at Northern Illinois University and USDA-ARS-CMAVE (Gainesville, Florida) present a step-by-step guide for doing this and also provide instructions for using the free statistics program "R" for the analysis. Example bioassays and analyses are described using previously unpublished data from tests with house flies. Two kinds of assays are described. In the first ,small amounts of an insecticide (beta-cyluthrin) were placed on the dorsal thorax (the "back") of the the fly. In the second, the insecticides spinosad and spinetoram were incorporated into sugar cubes and fed to the flies. Nearly all of the mortality for beta-cyfluthrin, a fast-acting insecticide, occurred within 24 hours of application. Spinetoram was about twice as toxic as spinosad, and both were as effective against pyrethroid-resistant flies as against insecticide-suusceptible flies. The results will be useful for new investigators who plan to conduct laboratory tests of insecticides against house flies. The results also indicate that spinetoram may be useful for controlling populations of insecticide-resistant flies.

Technical 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 paper is meant as a beginner’s guide for doing this and includes instructions for using the free program R for the analysis. The bioassays and analyses are described using previously unpublished data from bioassays on house flies, Musca domestica Linnaeus (Diptera: Muscidae). Flies were exposed topically to beta-cyfluthrin, a pyrethroid, or exposed to spinosad or spinetoram in sugar to encourage consuming them. LD50 values for beta-cyfluthrin in a susceptible strain were similar regardless of whether mortality was assessed at 24 h 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 significantly different between the pyrethroid resistant strain and the susceptible strain.