Toxicity of the essential oil from Thymus serpyllum and thymol to larvae and pupae of the housefly Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae)

Xie, Yongjian; Jin, Hui; Yang, Xi; Gu, Qilei; Zhang, Dayu

Toxicity of the essential oil from Thymus serpyllum and thymol to larvae and pupae of the housefly Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae)

2020

Xie, Yongjian | Jin, Hui | Yang, Xi | Gu, Qilei | Zhang, Dayu

The essential oil (EO) of Thymus serpyllum and thymol were evaluated for their insecticidal activity against the housefly (Musca domestica) larvae and pupae. Contact toxicity and fumigation bioassays were used. Chemical composition analysis of T. serpyllum EO by gas chromatographic mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed that thymol (41.6%), p-cymene (21.9%), and γ-terpinene (19.2%) were the major components. For larval assays, the LC₅₀ value of T. serpyllum EO was 0.4 μl/cm² for contact toxicity and 20.9 μl/l for fumigation toxicity. For thymol, the contact toxicity LC₅₀ value was 0.035 μl/cm² and the fumigation LC₅₀ value was 2.0 μl/l. For the pupal assay, T. serpyllum EO had a percentage inhibition rate (PIR) value of 100% for both contact toxicity (1.0 μl/cm²) and fumigation toxicity assay (25 μl/l), whereas thymol had a PIR of 100% for contact toxicity (0.1 μl/cm²) and fumigation assay (5 μl/l). This study shows that T. serpyllum EO and thymol are toxic to housefly larvae and pupae and have the potential for use in the population control of this species.

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