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Effect of time and temperature on toxicity of insecticides to insects
Author(s) -
DAS M.
Publication year - 1961
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7348.1961.tb03590.x
Subject(s) - toxicity , biology , toxicology , cuticle (hair) , pesticide , zoology , anatomy , agronomy , medicine
SUMMARY The toxicity of DDT to insects usually increases as the post‐treatment temperature is decreased in the commonly used temperature range (30‐10° C.). The toxicity increased further when the post‐treatment temperature of adult Tenebrio molitor L., dosed by topical application, was decreased from 10 to 6° C. However, when the post‐treatment temperature was decreased still more (down to — 1° C.), the toxicity by topical application or by injection apparently decreased again. The size of this ‘positive temperature coefficient’ below 6° C. decreased as time passed after treatment. Differences in toxicity below 6° C. were more apparent than real, and were the result of differences in the speeds at which symptoms appeared. The slight toxic action at very low temperatures was evidently not caused by failure of DDT to penetrate the cuticle, or to reach its site of action. More probably, the speed of the chemical or physical process which actually caused paralysis was extremely low at the very low temperatures.