Graciela Mareggiani

Insecticidal Activity of the Essential Oil and Extracts of Gutierrezia mandonii and G. repens (Asteraceae) Growing in Argentina

Abstract The insecticidal activities of essential oils (EO), the remaining water phase (RW) from the hydrodistillation, and the dichloromethane and methanolic extracts from Gutierrezia repens Griseb. and Gutierrezia mandonii (Sch. Bip.) Solbrig were evaluated. The GC and GC/MS analyses of the oils resulted in the identification of 52 compounds from G. mandonii and 17 compounds from G. repens comprising 88.7% and 98.5% of the oils, respectively. Sabi- nene (0–13.1%), β-pinene (6.4–17.8%) limonene (0.7–13.3%), (E)-β-ocimene (1.3–7.0%), terpinen-4-ol (0.7–4.1%), spathulenol (0–4.1%) and, the isomers (6R,7R)-bisabolone (6.6–58.0%) and (6S,7R)-bisabolone (0–1.6%) were the main components of the oils. Mortality and development delays of Ceratitis capitata larvae, reared using a treated artificial diet, were recorded. Gutierrezia mandonii methanolic extracts and the oil produced lethal effects (p≤0.05). Methanolic and dichloromethane extracts, the oil and the remaining water from distillation (RW) produced sublethal effects. Meanwhile dichloromethane and methanolic extracts, the oil and RW from G. repens resulted in significant mortality (p≤0.05), and all causing also significant development delays. The required concentration of G. repens oil to avoid development in 50% of C. capitata larvae (EC50) was significantly lower than G. mandonii

Impact of odor signáis on Cycloneda sanguínea (Coleóptera: Coccinellidae) searching behavior

G. Heit, G. Cohen, and G. Mareggiani. 2008. Impact of odor signals on Cycloneda sanguinea (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) searching behavior. Cien. Inv. Agr. 35(2):205-210. Volatile infochemicals generated by aphids, their host plants, or from the interaction between host plant and herbivore (herbivore-induced volatile plant compounds) are among the environmental stimuli used by predators to locate prey. The objective of this study was to evaluate the olfactometric response of the predator Cycloneda sanguinea (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) to volatile infochemicals associated with the tomato plant, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. (Solanaceae), and the aphid prey Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Predator behavior was evaluated in an airfl ow olfactometer at 24 ± 2oC with 65 ± 10% relative humidity and a 16 h photoperiod. Latency time and the number of visits to the active chamber where the odor source was located were recorded. The odor sources studied were: a. thirty healthy aphids; b. uninfested tomato leaves; c. infested tomato with 30 healthy aphids; d. infested tomato leaves with 30 stressed aphids; e. thirty stressed aphids. C. sanguinea adults were strongly attracted to the odors of infested tomato leaves, but for the other odor sources, they did not visit active chambers more often than inactive chambers. C. sanguinea took less time to fi nd active chambers with tomato leaves infested with healthy aphids than to fi nd chambers with aphids or tomato leaves alone. These results suggest that C. sanguinea uses herbivore-induced volatile plant compounds as reliable indicators of herbivore infestation to locate prey.