THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND LARVICIDAL ACTIVITIES OF C6- TO C14-SATURATED FATTY ACIDS IN PSEUDOSARCOPHAGA AFFINIS (DIPTERA: SARCOPHAGIDAE)

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Abstract
None of the saturated C6–C14 fatty acids fed free as components of a chemically-defined diet to larvae of Pseudosarcophaga affinis Auct. nec Fallén (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) improved the rate of growth and development, but several were toxic. In descending order of toxicity, the fatty acids were capric (C10), caprylic (C8), caproic (C6), and lauric (C12); myristic (C14) had no apparent effect. The ED50 was 0.00025 M of capric acid, 0.054 M of caprytic acid, and 0.155 M of caproic acid, respectively. Even at 2.5% of the diet lauric acid was not very toxic. The effects of fatty acids on P. afjinis are similar to those on other insects, though the order and degree of toxicity varied in some cases. Of course, certain fatty acids were widely used as insecticides: their activities varied with molecular configuration and physical–chemical properties. Present insight, however, is that certain fatty acids when eaten may be beneficial to some species and harmless or injurious to others. This suggests that perhaps fatty acids may be useful selective insecticides or substitutes for more dangerous chemicals.

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