Availability of Food as a Factor in Effectiveness of a Silica Aerogel Against the Merchant Grain Beetle (Coleoptera: Cucujidae)

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Abstract
Insecticidal effectiveness of a silica aerogel was tested with adults of the merchant grain beetle, Oryzaephilus mercator Fauvel, provided with food or denied food after exposure. All beetles walking over a thin layer of aerogel for 20-30 s died within 48 h in the absence of food, but only 17% died when food was provided. Similarly, all beetles without access to food after immersion in aerogel or immersion followed by exposure to an airstream died within 24 h; most survived if provided with food after treatment, or if rinsed in water whether or not food was provided. The results are discussed in relation to the aerogel’s action of selective sorption of epicuticular lipids.