Laboratory Evaluation of Novaluron as a Rodent Feed-Through Insecticide Against Sand Fly Larvae (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Experiments were conducted to evaluate novaluron as a feed-through larvicide to control immature phlebotomine sand flies (Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli) (Diptera: Psychodidae). The minimum effective concentration of novaluron against sand fly larvae fed hamster feces treated with novaluron, or feces of hamsters fed a diet containing novaluron, was 9.88 and 9.88 x 10(-1) mg/kg, respectively. Feces of novaluron-treated hamsters were held under conditions simulating the inside of a rodent burrow for up to 30 d, and all larvae that consumed these feces died before pupation; a significant reduction in treated larval survival relative to control was observed when the feces were aged for up to 150 d. Novaluron was shown to be effective as a feed-though larvicide when novaluron-treated food made up only a portion of the diet of hamsters. The results of this study suggest that novaluron could be effective as a rodent feed-through insecticide in a field setting.