Chytridiomycosis, a disease caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, has contributed to worldwide amphibian population declines; however, the pathogenesis of this disease is still somewhat unclear. Previous studies suggest that infection disrupts cutaneous sodium transport, which leads to hyponatremia and cardiac failure. However, infection is also correlated with unexplained effects on appetite, skin shedding, and white blood cell profiles. Glucocorticoid hormones may be the biochemical connection between these disparate effects, because they regulate ion homeostasis and can also influence appetite, skin shedding, and white blood cells. During a laboratory outbreak of B. dendrobatidis in Australian Green Tree Frogs, Litoria caerulea, we compared frogs showing clinical signs of chytridiomycosis to infected frogs showing no signs of disease and determined that diseased frogs had elevated baseline corticosterone, decreased plasma sodium and potassium, and altered WBC profiles. Diseased frogs also showed evidence of poorer body condition and elevated metabolic rates compared with frogs showing no signs of disease. Prior to displaying signs of disease, we also observed changes in appetite, body mass, and the presence of shed skin associated with infected but not yet diseased frogs. Collectively, these results suggest that elevated baseline corticosterone is associated with chytridiomycosis and correlates with some of the deleterious effects observed during disease development.

A German cockroach (Blatella germanica (L)) strain, Apyr-R, was collected from Opelika, Alabama after control failures with pyrethroid insecticides. Levels of resistance to permethrin and deltamethrin in Apyr-R (97- and 480-fold, respectively, compared with a susceptible strain, ACY) were partially or mostly suppressed by piperonyl butoxide (PBO) and S,S,S,-tributylphosphorotrithioate (DEF), suggesting that P450 monooxygenases and hydrolases are involved in resistance to these two pyrethroids in Apyr-R. However, incomplete suppression of pyrethroid resistance with PBO and DEF implies that one or more additional mechanisms are involved in resistance. Injection, compared with topical application, resulted in 43- and 48-fold increases in toxicity of permethrin in ACY and Apyr-R, respectively. Similarly, injection increased the toxicity of deltamethrin 27-fold in ACY and 28-fold in Apyr-R. These data indicate that cuticular penetration is one of the obstacles for the effectiveness of pyrethroids against German cockroaches. However, injection did not change the levels of resistance to either permethrin or deltamethrin, suggesting that a decrease in the rate of cuticular penetration may not play an important role in pyrethroid resistance in Apyr-R. Apyr-R showed cross-resistance to imidacloprid, with a resistance ratio of 10. PBO treatment resulted in no significant change in the toxicity of imidacloprid, implying that P450 monooxygenase-mediated detoxication is not the mechanism responsible for cross-resistance. Apyr-R showed no cross-resistance to spinosad, although spinosad had relatively low toxicity to German cockroaches compared with other insecticides tested in this study. This result further confirmed that the mode of action of spinosad to insects is unique. Fipronil, a relatively new insecticide, was highly toxic to German cockroaches, and the multi-resistance mechanisms in Apyr-R did not confer significant cross-resistance to this compound. Thus, we propose that fipronil could be a valuable tool in integrated resistance management of German cockroaches.

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The toxicity of 12 essential oil components [carvacrol, 1,8-cineole, trans-cinnamaldehyde, citronellic acid, eugenol, geraniol, S-(-)-limonene, (-)-linalool, (-)-menthone, (+)-alpha-pinene, (-)-beta-pinene, and thymol] to adult male; adult female; gravid female; and large, medium, and small nymphs of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.) (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae), was determined. Thymol was the most toxic essential oil component to adult males, gravid females, and medium nymphs, with LD50 values of 0.07, 0.12, and 0.06 mg per cockroach, respectively, trans-Cinnamaldehyde was the most toxic essential oil component to adult females, large nymphs, and small nymphs, with LD50 values of 0.19, 0.12, and 0.04 mg per cockroach, respectively. (+)-alpha-Pinene was the least toxic essential oil component to all stages of the German cockroach. The most frequently occurring susceptibility ranking for the stages was small nymphs > medium nymphs > adult males > large nymphs > gravid females > adult females. Adult females were the least susceptible to the essential oils, so they will be the determining factor when considering a rate for field application. Toxicity was positively correlated with essential oil component density and boiling point; however, there was no significant correlation between toxicity and lipophilicity. The effect of essential oil components on ootheca hatch was also investigated. S-(-)-limonene had the least effect on ootheca hatch, with 35.21 (mean) nymphs hatching per ootheca. (-)-menthone had the greatest effect on ootheca hatch with 20.89 nymphs hatching per ootheca The numbers of nymphs hatching from each ootheca generally declined as dose increased. No essential oil component completely prevented ootheca hatch suggesting that multiple treatments might be required in the field to prevent reinfestation.