Larvicidal, pupicidal and oviposition deterrent activities of essential oils from Umbelliferae plants against house fly Musca domestica

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the toxicity against house fly Musca domestica L. (M. domestica)-larvicidal, pupicidal, and oviposition deterrent activities of essential oils (EOs) from five plants: Anethum graveolens L. (A. graveolens), Centratherum anthelminticum L. (C. anthelminticum), Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (F. vulgare), Pimpinella anisum L. (P. anisum), and Trachyspermum ammi L. (T. ammi) Sprague. Methods: Dipping, topical and dual-choice assays were performed by using each EO at three concentrations (1%, 5% and 10%) as well as cypermethrin (positive control) and ethyl alcohol (negative control) in order to determine their larvicidal, pupicidal and oviposition deterrent activities against M. domestica mortality rate and morphogenic abnormality of larvae and pupae were recorded after 3 and 10 days of incubation. Oviposition deterrent activity was recorded for 5 consecutive days from the beginning of the assay. Results: All EOs at the highest concentration (10%) were highly effective in oviposition deterrent with 100% effective repellency and an oviposition activity index of -1.00. Ten percent of F. vulgare oil exhibited the highest efficacy against the larvae with 89.6% mortality rate at 3 days and an LC50 value of 5.4%. Ten percent of A. graveolens and T. ammi oils showed the highest efficacy against the pupae with 100% mortality and an LC50 value ranging from 1.81%-2.24%. Conclusions: These results indicate that F. vulgare, A. graveolens and T. ammi EOs are effective larvicidal, pupicidal and oviposition deterrent agents against house fly M. domestica.

Keywords

• musca domestica
• larvicide pupicide plant essential oil
• umbelliferae plant