Spirotetramat reduces fitness of the spotted ‐wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii

Oral take up of spirotetramat byDrosophila suzukii females inhibits the activity of acetyl-CoA decarboxylase (ACC) that is needed for fecundity and desiccation resitance. AbstractWith climate change, the spotted-wing Drosophila (SWD,Drosophila suzukii) invades a great number of fruit production regions worldwide. A plethora of insecticides are being applied for management of this pest. As expected, SWD develops resistance against some potent insecticides or is rather insensitive to some others. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify and characterize alternative insecticides to control SWD populations. Here, we have studied the effects of the orally applied inhibitor of the fatty acid synthesis pathway spirotetramat on SWD fitness with respect to fecundity and surface barrier function at different stages. In our experiments, we applied spirotetramat mixed with baker's yeast and showed that females and males were not repelled by effective concentrations of this insecticide. We found that spirotetramat, by trend, lowers egg numbers laid by fed females. These eggs rapidly desiccate, and only a few larvae hatch. Spirotetramat is lethal to larvae and reduces survival of adult flies under low-humidity conditions. Taken together, based on our data, we propose to use yeast supplemented with spirotetramat and additional SWD-specific attractants in traps in non-crop areas in order to eradicate SWD populations before they infest crop production sites.

Source: Insect Science - October 18, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Jing Yang, Justin Flaven ‐Pouchon, Yiwen Wang, Bernard Moussian Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research