Sensitivity of Aedes aegypti adults (Diptera: Culicidae) to the vapors of Eucalyptus essential oils

Abstract

Vapors of essential oils extracted from various species of Eucalyptus (E. gunnii, E. tereticornis, E. grandis, E. camaldulensis, E. dunnii, E. cinerea, E. saligna, E. sideroxylon, E. globulus ssp. globulus, E. globulus ssp. maidenii, E. viminalis and the hybrids E. grandisxE. tereticornis and E. grandisxE. camaldulensis) and their major components were found to be toxic to Aedes aegypti adults, the yellow fever mosquito. An aliquot of each oil was placed in a cylindrical test chamber and the number of knocked-down mosquitoes was recorded as function of time. Knockdown time 50% was then calculated. Results showed that E. viminalis had the fastest knockdown time at of 4.2 min, on the same order as dichlorvos, a standard knockdown agent. A correlation was observed between the content of 1,8-cineole in the Eucalyptus essential oils and the corresponding toxic effect. The correlation between KT(50) values and calculated vapor pressures of the essential oil components showed that the fumigant activity of simple organic compounds in insects is correlated with their volatility.