Short and long-term effects of azadirachtin A on development and egg production of Rhodnius prolixus

• Main Authors: Eloi S. Garcia, Denise Feder, José Eugênio P. Lima Gomes, Heinz Rembold
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 1990-03-01
• Series: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
• Subjects: azadirachtin; Rhodnius prolixus; development; egg production
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02761990000100002

Azadirachtin A was given through a blood meal to 4th-instar larvae and to adult females of Rhodnius prolixus. Development (ecdysis) and egg production were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. Long-term experiments with subsequent four feedings on azadirachtin-free blood were performed with 4th-instar larvae and with adult females. Only in the low-dose azadirachtin larval groups (0.01 and 0.1 microng/ml of blood), development was partially restored; after a single 1.0 microng/ml treatment about 50% of the treated larvae were still alive 120 days later without any adult emergence. Similarly fed females had a dose-dependent lower survival and egg deposition rate. The results are discussed in relation to the mode of azadirachtin A action.