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POTENT LETHAL EFFECT OF SALICYLALDEHYDE AND CINNAMALDEHYDE ON THE ARGENTINE ANT (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE)

Abstract

The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr), is a serious pest in the southern United States. Current strategies for ant control are limited to applying long-term residual insecticides, which should be harmful to both human and the environment. Previously, we showed potent lethal effects of plant salicylic acid and its metabolites, benzoic acid and cinnamic acid, on Argentine ants. Salicylic acid is one of the plant secondary metabolites, synthesized from phenylalanine via cinnamic acid and o-coumaric acid or via benzoic acid. In this report, the lethal effect of their redox partner molecules, namely cinnamaldehyde and salicylaldehyde, was tested by adopting an identical protocol. Cumulative mortality of Argentine ants was estimated initially after 3-day exposure to either salicylaldehyde or cinnamaldehyde in 10% sucrose food solution under the vented and unvented condition. Due to the potency of the lethal effect, we also tested the effect with much shorter exposures to salicylaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde in 30 min intervals. Similar trends of the lethal effects were observed in the exposure of cinnamaldehyde to the cultured Sf9 (Spodoptera frugiperda) cells. Our preliminary results strongly indicated a lethal effect of those aldehydic compounds which were much more potent than their acidic counterpart.

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