Diflubenzuron is an insecticide of the benzoylurea class. It is used in forest management and on field crops to selectively control insect pests, particularly forest tent caterpillar moths,

boll weevil The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growin ...

gypsy moth ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' bei ...

s, and other types of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s. It is a widely used larvicide in India for control of mosquito larvae by public health authorities. Diflubenzuron is approved by the

WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...

Mechanism of action

The

mechanism of action In pharmacology, the term mechanism of action (MOA) refers to the specific biochemical interaction through which a drug substance produces its pharmacological effect. A mechanism of action usually includes mention of the specific molecular targ ...

of diflubenzuron involves inhibiting the production of chitin which is used by an insect to build its

exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...

. It triggers insect larvae to molt early without a properly formed exoskeleton, resulting in the death of the larvae.

Environmental toxicity

Diflubenzuron has been evaluated by the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

(EPA), and it is classified as non-carcinogenic. 4-Chloroaniline, a metabolite of diflubenzuron which has been classified as a

carcinogen A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive subs ...

, is produced after diflubenzuron has been ingested. The small amount converted to 4-chloroaniline after ingestion is not sufficient to cause cancer.

Commercial uses

A commercial preparation containing diflubenzuron is sold under the trade name Adept and is used as an insect growth regulator designed to kill fungus gnat larvae in commercial greenhouses. It is applied to infected soil and will kill fungus gnat larvae for 30-60 days from a single application. Although it is targeted at fungus gnat larvae, care should be taken in applying it as it is highly toxic to most aquatic invertebrates. It has no toxic effects on adult insects, only insect larvae are affected. Diflubenzuron can cause serious foliar injury to plants in the spurge family and certain types of begonia, particularly poinsettias,

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...

and reiger begonia and should not be applied to these plant varieties. Diflubenzuron is used as a larvicide in the cattle farming industry. Sold under the name

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

, it is formulated as a bolus and is used to control fly populations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diflubenzuron Insecticides Benzamides Ureas Chlorobenzenes Fluoroarenes Insect control Agricultural chemicals Biocides