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Insects
Special Issues
Toxicology and Molecular Physiology of Social Insects
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Toxicology and Molecular Physiology of Social Insects

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Physiology, Reproduction and Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 September 2024 | Viewed by 3463

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Zhixiang Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Interests: insect toxicology; botanical pesticides/biopesticides; integrated pest management; pesticide safety evaluation; new pesticide formulation/nanopesticides

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

The toxicology and molecular physiology of insects comprise an interdisciplinary subject involving entomology, biochemistry, molecular biology, toxicology and other related fields. Additionally, molecular toxicology advances our insight into the toxicological and toxicokinetic properties of various bioactive compounds. This interdisciplinary approach is of great importance to obtaining a better understanding of the ecology and behavior of insects, elucidating insecticide toxicology and resistance mechanisms. Subsequently, this will help researchers to design more effective insecticides and biopesticides to manage targeted pests that affect agricultural production and public health, while minimizing environmental pollution and its impact on non-target organisms, as well as helping in developing integrated pest management strategies for sustainable land use. Therefore, this Special Issue seeks submissions of original research and review articles dealing with mechanistic understandings of the toxicology and molecular physiology of social insects including ants, bees, termites, and red fire ants, among others.

Prof. Dr. Zhixiang Zhang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • insect toxicology
  • insecticide resistance
  • pest control
  • non-target biosafety
  • molecular toxicology
  • toxicological mechanism
  • new pesticide formulation
  • nanotoxicology

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 24474 KiB  
Article
Toxicity and Behavior-Altering Effects of Three Nanomaterials on Red Imported Fire Ants and Their Effectiveness in Combination with Indoxacarb
by Zewen Ma, Jiantao Fu, Yunfei Zhang, Lanying Wang and Yanping Luo
Insects 2024, 15(2), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15020096 - 01 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1001
Abstract
The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) is one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world. At present, the control of red imported fire ants is still mainly based on chemical control, and the most commonly used is [...] Read more.
The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) is one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world. At present, the control of red imported fire ants is still mainly based on chemical control, and the most commonly used is indoxacarb bait. In this study, the contact and feeding toxicity of 16 kinds of nanomaterials to workers, larvae, and reproductive ants were evaluated after 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. The results showed that the mortality of diatomite, Silica (raspberry-shaped), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes among workers reached 98.67%, 97.33%, and 68%, respectively, after contact treatment of 72 h. The mortality of both larval and reproductive ants was less than 20% after 72 h of treatment. All mortality rates in the fed treatment group were below 20% after 72 h. Subsequently, we evaluated the digging, corpse-removal, and foraging behaviors of workers after feeding with diatomite, Silica (raspberry-shaped), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes for 24 h, which yielded inhibitory effects on the behavior of red imported fire ants. The most effective was diatomite, which dramatically decreased the number of workers that dug, extended the time needed for worker ant corpse removal and foraging activities, decreased the number of workers that foraged, and decreased the weight of the food carried by the workers. In addition, we also evaluated the contact and feeding toxicity of these three nanomaterials in combination with indoxacarb on red imported fire ants. According to contact toxicity, after 12 h of contact treatment, the death rate among the red imported fire ants exposed to the three materials combined with indoxacarb reached more than 97%. After 72 h of exposure treatment, the mortality rate of larvae was more than 73% when the nanomaterial content was above 1% and 83% when the diatomite content was 0.5%, which was significantly higher than the 50% recorded in the indoxacarb control group. After 72 h of feeding treatment, the mortality of diatomite, Silica (raspberry-shaped), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes combined with indoxacarb reached 92%, 87%, and 98%, respectively. The death rates of the three kinds of composite ants reached 97%, 67%, and 87%, respectively. The three kinds of composite food had significant inhibitory effects on the behavior of workers, and the trend was largely consistent with the effect of nanomaterials alone. This study provides technical support for the application of nanomaterials in red imported fire ant control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicology and Molecular Physiology of Social Insects)
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14 pages, 2480 KiB  
Article
The Survival and Physiological Response of Calliptamus abbreviatus Ikonn (Orthoptera: Acrididae) to Flavonoids Rutin and Quercetin
by Xunbing Huang, Li Zheng and Yueyue Wang
Insects 2024, 15(2), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15020095 - 01 Feb 2024
Viewed by 837
Abstract
Insect-resistant substances from plants are important natural resources that human beings can potentially develop and use to control pests. In this study, we explored the adverse effects of rutin and quercetin on grasshopper (Calliptamus abbreviatus), as well as the insect’s physiological [...] Read more.
Insect-resistant substances from plants are important natural resources that human beings can potentially develop and use to control pests. In this study, we explored the adverse effects of rutin and quercetin on grasshopper (Calliptamus abbreviatus), as well as the insect’s physiological response to these substances in laboratory and field experiments. These two plant compounds exhibited toxic effects on C. abbreviatus, with quercetin showing a stronger toxicity, indicated by a lower survival, slower development, and higher induced gene expression and activities of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, cytochrome P450s, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase, compared to rutin. These compounds, especially quercetin, have the potential to be developed as biopesticides to control grasshoppers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicology and Molecular Physiology of Social Insects)
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14 pages, 4048 KiB  
Article
Toxicity and Behavioral Effects of Amending Soils with Biochar on Red Imported Fire Ants, Solenopsis invicta
by Jiantao Fu, Mingda Qin, Yue Liang, Yinglin Lu, Yuxing An and Yanping Luo
Insects 2024, 15(1), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15010042 - 08 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1070
Abstract
Solenopsis invicta, often known as the red imported fire ants (RIFAs), is a well-known global invasive ant species that can be found in agricultural, urban, and natural environments worldwide. Simultaneously, it also inhabits the soil. Biochar is generated by the pyrolysis of [...] Read more.
Solenopsis invicta, often known as the red imported fire ants (RIFAs), is a well-known global invasive ant species that can be found in agricultural, urban, and natural environments worldwide. Simultaneously, it also inhabits the soil. Biochar is generated by the pyrolysis of organic matter under high-temperature anoxic environments and widely used in agricultural ecosystems and soil amendment. However, to date, it remains unknown as to whether soil application of biochar has a negative effect on RIFAs. In our study, we investigated the toxicity and irritability effects of different amounts of biochar (0%, 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, and 20%) introduced into the soil on red fire ants; upon comparison with the control soil (0% biochar), the application of 1%, 2%, and 5% biochar did not result in significantly different results. But the utilization of biochar at a concentration over 10% effectively repelled the RIFAs, resulting in their departure from the treated soils. High doses of biochar were able to cause death of red fire ants; the mortality rate of red fire ants reached 55.56% after 11 days of 20% biochar treatment. We also evaluated the effects of biochar on four behaviors of red fire ants, namely aggregation, walking, grasping, and attacking; 20% of the biochar treatment group reduced aggregation by 64.22% and this value was 55.22%, 68.44%, and 62.36% for walking, grasping, and attacking. Finally, we measured the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) enzyme activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in red fire ants; the results showed that the activities of the three enzymes increased with the increase in biochar addition, which indicated that a high dose of biochar induced oxidative stress in red fire ants. Our results indicate that biochar has the potential to cause toxicity and repel red imported fire ants (RIFAs) in a manner that is dependent on the concentration. We propose that biochar could be utilized in the control and manufacturing of baits for red fire ant management. This work establishes a foundation for the prevention and management of red fire ants and the logical utilization of biochar. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicology and Molecular Physiology of Social Insects)
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