Methionine as a safe and effective novel biorational mosquito larvicide

• Published in: Pest management science Vol. 75; no. 2; pp. 346 - 355
• Main Authors: Weeks, Emma NI, Baniszewski, Julie, Gezan, Salvador A, Allan, Sandra A, Cuda, James P, Stevens, Bruce R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.02.2019; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Aedes - growth & development; Aedes albopictus; Agricultural management; Agrochemicals; Amino acids; Animals; Anopheles - growth & development; Anopheles quadrimaculatus; Aquatic insects; Bacillus thuringiensis; Chemical pest control; Containers; Culex - growth & development; Culex tarsalis; Culicidae; Environmental effects; Environmental protection; Females; Formulations; Insecticide resistance; Insecticides; Insects; Kinetics; Larva - growth & development; Larvae; Larvicides; Methionine; Mosquito Control; Mosquitoes; Organic chemistry; Pest control; pesticide; Pesticides; Pests; Pupation; Toxicity; Aedes albopictus; Culex tarsalis; Bacillus thuringiensis; pesticide; Anopheles quadrimaculatus
• ISSN: 1526-498X; 1526-4998
• DOI: 10.1002/ps.5118

BACKGROUND Mosquito larvicides provide a source‐reduction strategy to diminish adult females that bite and potentially spread pathogens. Demands are mounting for new and innovative effective biorational larvicides, due to the development of resistance to some currently utilized mosquito larvicides, undesirable non‐target effects, and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) restrictions. Methionine is a human nutrient essential amino acid that unexpectedly has been shown to be a valuable safe pest management tool against select insect pests that possess alkaline gut physiology. The present study evaluated larvicidal toxicity of methionine in several pestiferous mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) genera. RESULTS Concentration‐dependent DL‐methionine kinetics assays of survival and pupation were conducted in larvae of Aedes albopictus Skuse, Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say, and Culex tarsalis Coquillett in glass jars. High concentrations of DL‐methionine yielded 100% mortality for all test species and prevented pupation at a rate equivalent to Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) treatments. Concentration kinetics indicated that An. quadrimaculatus was 10‐fold more sensitive to DL‐methionine than Ae. albopictus and Cx. tarsalis. CONCLUSIONS EPA regulations currently exempt methionine in pesticide formulations applied to agricultural crops. This study demonstrates that methionine is a highly effective mosquito larvicide that can provide a beneficial new biorational, environmentally sustainable tool to control pestiferous mosquitoes. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry Demands are mounting for innovative effective biorational larvicides. Given its demonstration herein as an effective larvicide for three mosquito genera, methionine should be included in the mosquito management toolkit.