Mode of entry of a vaporized pyrethroid knockdown agent into the body of the housefly, Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae)

Abstract

We investigated the mode of entry of pyrethroids into the insect body using adult housefly, Musca domestica L., as an insect model. The wings of adult female houseflies were removed, and empenthrin was applied topically to three different sites: the mesothoracic spiracle, the ventral mesothorax, and the dorsal mesothorax. Among these treatments, the application of the compound to the mesothoracic spiracle led to the quickest knockdown of the flies. To determine the importance of the spiracle as a primary entry site for the pyrethroid, knockdown times were compared between houseflies with blocked and non-blocked spiracles, using two bioassays: a vapor action test using technical grade empenthrin, and a mosquito coil test using empenthrin-impregnated coils. In both tests, the times required for 50 % knockdown of spiracle-blocked houseflies were significantly higher than those required for the non-blocked flies. However, the mortality rates of the two groups were nearly identical, suggesting that spiracles play an important role in the knockdown of houseflies. These results also suggest that the rate of pyrethroid uptake through the spiracles was decreased due to the blocking of the mesothoracic spiracle. Therefore, the spiracle may be considered the main entry site for vaporized pyrethroids.