Joint Toxicity of Beauveria bassiana and Two Insect Growth Regulators on Beet Armyworm,Spodoptera exigua(Hübner)

Joint toxicity of Beauveria bassiana and two insect growth regulators, methoxyfenozide and hexaflumuron, on beet annywonn larvae, Spodoptera exigua （ Htthner）, were investigated. An obvious synergism effect of the two insect growth regulators with B. beauveria was observed. When the insect growth regulators at LC50 concentrations （25 × 10^-6 g/L for methoxyfenozide and 1 000 × 10^ -6 g/L for hexaflumuren） were mixed with B. bassiana at the volume ratio of 4： 1, the mixtures achieved the best efficacy. The co-toxicity co-efficient （CTC） of methexyfenozide and B. bass/ana was 285, and that of hexaflumuron and B. bass/ana was 208. Scanning electron microscope observation of the longitudinal section of S. exigua revealed obviously different patterns of integument in different treatment groups.

Synthesis, bioactivity and functional evaluation of linker-modified allatostatin analogs as potential insect growth regulators

Insect growth regulators play an important role in integrated pest management strategies.The FGLa–allatostatins（ASTs）are a family of neuropeptides that can inhibit juvenile hormone（JH）biosynthesis by the corpora allata（CA）of Diploptera punctata in vitro,are regarded as insect growth regulator candidates.In the search for new potential mimics and to explore the effect of linker length on inhibiting JH biosynthesis,a series of AST analogs were synthesized by modifying the linker of K24,which was found to have a significant effect on JH biosynthesis in vitro in our previous study.Functional evaluation demonstrated that all the target compounds can activate the Dippu-Ast R,albeit with different potencies.Analog L6 with the longest linker（n=5）,exhibited not only a promising effect on inhibition of JH biosynthesis both in vitro and in vivo,but also good activity in inhibiting basal oocyte growth.Structure–activity relationships（SAR）studies showed that longer linkers provided greater contribution to activity.

Eradication of Solenopsis invicta by pyriproxyfen at the Shihmen Reservoir in northern Taiwan

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of eradicating the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, in the hot, humid and rainy conditions of northern Taiwan. Thirteen hectares of the Shihmen Reservoir have been infected with these ants, with a total of 1 578 mounds. Pyriproxyfen was applied at a rate of 2 kg/hectare each season, for a total of four seasons. Surveys using visual examination, bait traps, as well as the population index method showed that the brood, the reproductive ants, and the worker ants within the nests were all significantly reduced 1 month after the first application of pyriproxyfen. Four months after the initial application there were no more brood or reproductive ants. After 8 months there were no longer any active mounds left, and 12 months later there were no more worker ants. After monitoring for 1 more year, it was ascertained that the red imported fire ants were eradicated. The percentages of decrease after 2, 4 and 6 months of treatment were 57.4%, 80.5%, and 98.2%, respectively.