Fumigant Activity of Eight Plant Essential Oils Against Workers of Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta

Abstract

Plant essential oils from eight plant species were tested for their insecticidal activities against the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invcita, by using a fumigation bioassay. This study reveals that the mortalities after treatment of the workers of red imported fire ants varied according to the classification of workers, oil type, dosage, and exposure time. Among the essential oils tested, strong insecticidal activity was observed with the essential oils of camphor (Cinnamomum camphora), artemisia annua (Artemisia annua), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), mugwort (Artemisia argyi), and wintergreen (Ilex chinensis). Ant mortalities from chrysanthemum oil (Dendranthema indicum), turpentine oil (Pinus massoniana), and forsythia oil (Forsythia suspense) treatments were significantly lower than those from the previously mentioned five essential oil treatments. This study showed that camphor, artemisia annua, eucalyptus, mugwort, and wintergreen oils may have potential to be used as substitutes for chemical insecticides.

Insecticidal Activities of Compounds from Sweet Flag (Acorus Calamus) against Red Imported Fire Ants Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

“…Essential oil from mint oil and wintergreen are also reported as being toxic to fire ants (Appel et al, 2004;Tang et al, 2013). Bioactive compounds from Tephrosia vogelii Hook.…”

“…and Artemisia argyi H. Lév. and Vaniot are also reported as repellents against fire ants (Wang et al, 2012;Tang et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2014).…”

“…Moreover, when Hasan et al (2006) applied sweet flag oil vapors against grubs of Trogaderma granarium (Everts), they observed that the exposure period is the most important factor affecting the toxic effect of the sweet flag oil rather than the dosage. Tang et al (2013) reported that the application rate of essential oils and mortality of fire ants were directly correlated. Higher the application rates of essential oils, higher the mortality rate of fire ants during their study conducted.…”

The Insecticidal and Repellent Activity of Soil Containing Cinnamon Leaf debris against Red Imported Fire Ant Workers

“…Studies on the toxicity of botanical essential oils on red imported fire ant have shown that various essential oils are repellent and/or toxic to the ant (Tang et al, 2013). Mint oil granules were proven to be toxic and repellent to red imported fire ants (Appel et al, 2004).…”

“…Mint oil granules were proven to be toxic and repellent to red imported fire ants (Appel et al, 2004). The essential oils of camphor, Artemisia annua, eucalyptus, mugwort, turpentine wintergreen, chrysanthemum, and forsythia showed effective fumigation toxicity against the red imported fire ant (Tang et al, 2013). In a previous study on the anti-termitic activity of essential oils and their chemical constituents, 5 mg/g each of benzaldehyde, R-terpineol, neral, geraniol, eugenol, cinnamyl alcohol, and cinnamaldehyde exhibit 100% mortality after 1 d post-treatment (Chang & Cheng, 2002).…”