Effect of Leaf Maturity on Host Habitat Location by the Egg-Larval Parasitoid Ascogaster reticulata.

Adoxophyes honmai, a serious pest of tea plants, prefers to lay eggs on mature tea leaves rather than young leaves. Here, we examined a hypothesis that Ascogaster reticulata, an egg-larval parasitoid of A. honmai, increases the likelihood of encountering host egg masses by searching mature tea leaves when host-derived cues are not available. In a dual-choice bioassay using a four-arm olfactometer, A. reticulata preferred odor from intact, mature leaves versus young leaves. Based on volatile analysis with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we identified 5 and 10 compounds from mature and young leaf volatiles, respectively. The 5 components in the extract from intact mature leaves included (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (E)-ß-ocimene, linalool, (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT), and methyl salicylate. When each individual compound, or quaternary and quintenary blends of them, ratios of which were adjusted to match those of mature leaf volatiles, were provided, parasitoids preferred the full mixture and the quaternary blend devoid of DMNT to the solvent control. Methyl salicylate, one of the components of preferred blends, was not detected among young leaf volatiles. We concluded that the volatile composition of tea leaves changes, depending on their maturity, and that this composition affects foraging behavior of the parasitoid, which is closely related to the host herbivore's oviposition preference.

The Possibility of Using Isolated Alkaloid Compounds and Crude Extracts of Piper retrofractum (Piperaceae) as Larvicidal Control Agents for Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) Larvae.

Culex quinquefasciatus is a common domestic mosquito that is widespread in many areas of Thailand and serves as a southeastern vector of Japanese encephalitis. The present study investigated the acute toxicity of crude extracts and alkaloid compounds of Piper retrofractum (Piperales: Piperaceae) in Cx. quinquefasciatus third instar larvae. P. retrofractum was sequentially extracted using hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and methanol, and the crude extracts were tested on mosquito larvae. Detoxification and neuroenzymes were analyzed to establish the mode of action. Acute toxicity was assessed on Poecilia reticulata (Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae) to determine the possibility of toxicity in a nontarget species. Our results showed crude hexane extract had the highest toxicity in Cx. quinquefasciatus (0.9 ppm). Piperine and piperanine, which are alkaloid compounds from the crude hexane extract, showed LC50 values of 0.27 and 2.97 ppm, respectively, after 24 h of exposure. All the crude extracts showed low toxicity in P. reticulata compared with that in the mosquito larvae. The carboxylesterase, glutathione-S-transferase, and acetylcholinesterase activities in Cx. quinquefasciatus were reduced after treatment with all the extracts and the two alkaloid compounds. Thus, P. retrofractum shows larvicidal effects against Cx. quinquefasciatus and low toxicity for nontarget species. Thus, P. retrofractum could be a choice for controlling Cx. quinquefasciatus.

Impact of botanical extracts derived from leaf extracts Melia azedarach L. (Meliaceae) and Amaranthus viridis L. (Amaranthaceae) on populations of Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and detoxification enzyme activities.

Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), an important insect pest of many field crops, has developed resistance to various insecticides, making its control increasingly difficult. This study explored the effects of senescent Leaf Melia azedarach L. (Meliaceae) and Amaranthus viridis L. (Amaranthaeae) extract on second instar S. exigua Larvae survival by the dipping method. We also analyzed detoxification enzyme activities of carboxylesterase and gLutathione-s-transferase in in vitro tests with extract-treated insects. The leaf extract showed strong insecticide activity with a LC50 value of 9.793 mg/ml (r2 = 0.965) and 50.5702 mg/mi (r2 = 0.95) at 24 after exposure for M. azedarach L. and A. viridis L. extract, respectivrly but no significant increase in toxicity over time. The M. azedarach L. extract strongly inhibited all enzyme activities. In contrast with A. viridis L. extract, they inhibit only glutathione-s-transferase. This is the first report of highly effective insecticidal activity of the senescent leaf extract of A. viridis and M. azedarach L. against S. exigua. Both plant materials are a less expensive (0.5 $US per 1 kg leaf), suggesting this extract is a promising alternative tool for the management of this pest.