Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

Insect pests, such as flour beetles and mosquitoes, cause significant damage to food crops and transmit disease. Other insects, however, are vital. E. g., bees pollinate billions of dollars of crops, and parasitoids (solitary wasps) parasitize pest insects. Insecticides, the most common control against insects, are effective only if the majority of insects are susceptible, and they not only kill the susceptible pests, but also beneficial organisms. Furthermore, halogenated insecticides (e. g. DDT) are accumulating in the environment. Human population densities are increasing, and this increases the risk of insect-transmitted disease. The demand for food, fibres, fuel and chemicals will increasingly be satisfied by products from agricultural sources. These changes require the development of sustainable, effective insect control measures. We propose to research behavioural modulators (deterrents, masking agents or attractants) as insect control agents. Insect life cycles are exquisitely controlled by chemical cues from the environment and from members of each species. We propose to build on our discovery of non-halogenated compounds that significantly alter the behavioural responses of pest moths to their natural cues. We will focus on the behaviour of the insect that causes crop damage or disease transmission and on compounds that do not cause acute toxicity to the insect. Target insects for this study are: the red flour beetle (a problem for the food industry), malaria mosquito and beneficial insects (honey bees and parasitoids). We will synthesize compounds and test them against pest insects, to find candidates that deter the insects or mask the cues that elicit crop-damaging or disease-transmitting behaviours. Active compounds against pests will be tested on bees and parasitoids, to focus on compounds that control pests without affecting beneficial insects. The novelty of this proposal lies in the development of insect control agents that are not toxic and are selective towards pests. We will also assess biotic and abiotic degradation of active compounds, to ensure that our research develops into new, sustainable tools for insect pest management.