Chitin synthesis inhibitors: Effects on insects and on nontarget organisms

The chitin synthesis inhibitors such as diflubenzuron are effective in preventing chitinous tissue formation in insect larvae. A number of deleterious insects have been studied in the laboratory and in the field and their control has been obtained. Nontarget organisms include useful insects (Apis mellifera), chitinous organisms such as certain fungi and the arthropods, and the farm animals and birds. Diflubenzuron was found to possess scarce activity on Phycomyces; the extent of the limited consequences on Apis mellifera depended on the nature of the crops sprayed. No activity was reported for a variety of birds. Species within the phylum Arthropoda, on the contrary, and certain stream invertebrates were intoxicated at the insecticide concentrations needed for mosquito control.