Ngo Kieu, Castillo Paula, Laine Roger A, Sun Qian
Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Insects. 2021 Dec 12;12(12):1109. doi: 10.3390/insects12121109.
The Formosan subterranean termite, Shiraki, is a highly destructive pest and a cosmopolitan invasive species. Sustainable termite management methods have been improving with the search for novel insecticides that are effective, safe, and cost efficient. Menadione, also known as vitamin K, is a synthetic analogue and biosynthetic precursor of vitamin K with low mammalian toxicity. Menadione has shown insecticidal activity in several insects, presumably due to interference with mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. However, little is known about its effectiveness against termites. In this study, we evaluated the toxicity and repellency of menadione in . Our results showed that menadione affected the survival and feeding activity of termites both in filter paper and substrate (sand) treatments, and menadione influenced termite tunneling activity in treated sand. In a no-choice assay, ≥90% mortality after seven days and minimal or no food consumption were recorded when sand was treated with menadione at 6 to 600 ppm. In a two-choice assay with a combination of treated and untreated sand, termites were deterred by menadione at 6 to 600 ppm and exhibited low mortality (≤30%) over seven days, while tunneling activity was prevented with 60 to 600 ppm of menadione treatment. Overall, our study demonstrated dose-dependent toxicity and repellency of menadione in . The potential use of menadione as an alternative termite control agent is discussed.
台湾乳白蚁（Shiraki）是一种极具破坏性的害虫，也是一种世界性的入侵物种。随着寻找有效、安全且经济高效的新型杀虫剂，可持续的白蚁管理方法不断改进。甲萘醌，也称为维生素K，是维生素K的合成类似物和生物合成前体，对哺乳动物毒性较低。甲萘醌已在多种昆虫中显示出杀虫活性，可能是由于干扰线粒体氧化磷酸化。然而，关于其对白蚁的有效性知之甚少。在本研究中，我们评估了甲萘醌对……的毒性和驱避性。我们的结果表明，甲萘醌在滤纸和基质（沙子）处理中均影响白蚁的存活和取食活动，并且甲萘醌影响处理过的沙子中白蚁的打洞活动。在无选择试验中，当用6至600 ppm的甲萘醌处理沙子时，七天后记录到死亡率≥90%，且食物消耗极少或无消耗。在有处理过和未处理过的沙子组合的二选一试验中，6至600 ppm的甲萘醌对白蚁有驱避作用，七天内死亡率较低（≤30%），而60至600 ppm的甲萘醌处理可阻止打洞活动。总体而言，我们的研究证明了甲萘醌在……中的剂量依赖性毒性和驱避性。讨论了甲萘醌作为替代白蚁控制剂的潜在用途。
