The research has been conducted to evaluate the activity of the frass extracts of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) against its larvae. Five solvents differ in their polarity namely petroleum ether; chloroform; acetone; ethanol and water were used to extract the frass material. The following points were studied: (a) evaluation the toxicity of different extracts against S. littoralis larvae (b) effect of frass extracts on the development of S. littoralis larvae (c) evaluation of the antifeedant activity of frass extracts against 4th instar larvae of S. littoralis. Results showed that the 10% concentration of frass exhibited strong antifeedant activity. On the other hand ethanol and water extracts (highly polar) caused the highest mortality percentage whilst petroleum ether and chloroform (non-polar) caused the highest percentage of antifeedant activity, respectively. The type and concentration of extracts by water, ethanol, chloroform and acetone affected the sex ratio and development of S. littoralis. In general, the biological activity of frass extracts was solvent type-and concentration-dependent. |
