Mortality and anti-feedants evaluation of hexane and ethanol extracts of Lantana camara (Verbenaceae), African nutmeg (Monodoro myristica (Gaerth) Dunal) and Enuopiri (Euphorbia Laterifloria, Schum and Thonner) against subterranean termite workers (Macroterme michaelseni)

Abstract

Laboratory bioassays were conducted using hexone and ethanol extracts of Lantana camara, A. nutmeg and Euphorbia laterifloria against subterranean termite workers. The test arenas consisted of 9 cm Whatman No. 1 filter paper, treated with five different prepared concentrations of each of the different extracts and the untreated control. All the different concentrations of the extracts tested have increasing mortality, and anti-feedants effect causes them to increase with each day of the experiment. All the extracts recorded 100% mortality rate after six days of treatment with concentration of 10 g/100 mL. After two weeks of the experiment, L. camara hexane extract had the best anti-feedant effect, recording 39.7 mg filter paper mass loss. Lethal dose analysis (LD₅₀ and LD₉₀) was carried out to determine the economic impact of this study. From this study it was discovered that with as low as 0.50 g/100 mL of hexane extract of both L. camara and Enuopiri, 50% mortality can be recorded and 90% mortality can be achieved with 0.90 g/100 mL for all the plants hexane extracts. These results demonstrated that all the plant materials are good termicidal agents with good economic value.

Keywords:

• mortality
• anti-feedants
• termite
• nutmeg
• Enuopiri
• extracts