Influence of temperature and humidity on the efficacy of spinosad against four stored-grain beetle species

In the present work, we examined the insecticidal effect of spinosad, against adults of the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae), the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on wheat and the larger grain borer, Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae) on maize. The dose rates used were 0.01, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 ppm. The bioassays were carried out at three temperatures, 20, 25 and 30 C and two relative humidity levels, 55 and 75%. Mortality of R. dominica and S. oryzae was high even at 0.01 ppm of spinosad, reaching 100% at 55% relative humidity and 30 C after 21 days of exposure. Generally, mortality of R. dominica, increased with temperature while for S. oryzae mortality increased with temperature and with the decrease of relative humidity. Moreover, for S. oryzae, mortality was low at 20 C. In the case of T. confusum, mortality was low at doses between 0.01 and 0.5 ppm even after 21 days of exposure. At 1 ppm, mortality exceeded 90% only at 30 degrees C and only after 21 days of exposure. Mortality of P. truncatus was low on maize treated with 0.01 ppm, but increasing the dose to 0.1 ppm resulted in > 87% mortality after 14 days of exposure. In several combinations tested, spinosad efficacy notably varied according to the temperature and humidity regimes. Of the species tested, R. dominica and P. truncatus were very susceptible to spinosad, followed by S. oryzae, while T. confusum was the least susceptible.