Abstract
Macrotermes bellicosus, though a beneficial termite species causes serious damage to wood and wood products, fabrics and many agricultural crops and ornamental trees. This study was conducted to assess the potentials of essential oils of the leaves of Chromolaena odorata and roots of Uvaria chamae in the control of M. bellicosus. The repellency, knockdown and insecticidal effects of the oils to M. bellicosus were tested using the filter paper and cotton ball impregnation technique. Each test oil (0.05, 0.075 and 0.10 ml) was separately used in the repellency assay, for an exposure period of 30 and 60 minutes. For the knockdown and toxicity test, termites were exposed to 0.05, 0.075, 0.10, 0.125 and 0.15 ml of each oil for an exposure period of 60 minutes and 6 hours, respectively. Each test and control (untreated) group had three replicates and in each experiment twenty active workers of M. bellicosus were exposed. Repellency results were somewhat irregular and oil volume and exposure, time independent. Knockdown effect of 56.67 and 86.67 % were observed for C. odorata and U. chamae oils (0.15ml), respectively at the 60th minute. Contact toxicity test with 0.15 ml of the oils resulted in 100 % and 86.67 % mortalities for U. chamae and C. odorata, respectively. No knockdown or mortalities were observed in the controls. The difference between the repellency of both oils at 30 and 60 minutes was not significant (p>0.05; p= 0.842 and 0.212 respectively), whereas for knockdown and insecticidal effects of both oils the difference was significant Q3(p<0.05; p= 0.000 and 0.001 respectively).. Essential oils of C. odorata and U. chamae are potential agents for the control of M. bellicosus.
Highlights
Macrotermes bellicosus (Isoptera: Termitidae) is a species of termite that is commonly referred to as harvester termite or war-like termite or African termite
The knockdown effect of the test oils observed in this study agrees with the findings of Okweche and Nnah (2018) who assessed the efficacy of Jatropha curcus on M. bellicosus and Manimaran et al (2012), who observed similar effect of essential oils of Pinus radiata, Citrus sinensis, Eucalyptus globulus on their test insects
The need for the control of termites has become imperative owing to their devastating damage in agriculture and destruction of properties
Summary
Macrotermes bellicosus (Isoptera: Termitidae) is a species of termite that is commonly referred to as harvester termite or war-like termite or African termite. Macrotermes bellicosus is relished by people living the traditional lifestyle especially children who snack on it when roasted or fried It is regarded as a traditional delicacy in Southern as well as Northern Nigeria (Igwe et al, 2011). 2009 described bio-pesticides as pesticides derived from natural sources such as plants, fungi, nematodes, bacteria, and others These pesticides are known to be target specific and are often regarded as important components of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes. The use of botanicals in the control of insect pests have been an age long tradition, especially in the African continent Plants such as Gmelina arborea, Aframomum meleguueta, Moringa oleifera, Zingiber officinale, Morinda lucida and Jatropha curcas have been effectively used to control termites (Okweche et al, 2015; Okweche and Nnah, 2018). The objective of this research was to determine the major chemical components of essential oils of C. odorata and U. chamae and evaluate the efficacy of these oils in the management of M. bellicosus
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