Tebufenozide is a new insect growth regulator which interferes with the activity of ecdysone, thereby adversely affecting insects during moulting. Tebufenozide belongs to a group of insecticides called insect growth regulators (IGRs). IGRs mimic insect hormones and therefore interupt normal biological processes. In particular, tebufenozide mimics the natural insect hormone known as ecdysone. As an insect grows through its immature stages, it must periodically shed its rather inflexible skin (cuticle); this process is called molting or ecdysis. Ecdysone (which is also called molting hormone) is responsible for initiating the molting process; when a given immature stage has reached its maximum size, the insect's body produces and releases into the blood a critical concentration of ecdysone, at which time a series of events is initiated that results in a molt. If the concentration of ecdysone is artificially raised prematurely, the molting process starts too early and the insect dies in the attempt. Although tebufenozide is not chemically identical to ecdysone, it has the same result.
Tebufenozide works best if ingested by the insect larva while it is feeding on plant tissue (such as foliage or fruit). It does not immediately kill the insect; indeed, death may take 3-5 days. But because much of the insect's digestive system is lined by cuticle that is identical to that on the outside of the body, the insect stops feeding within a few hours of ingesting a lethal dose of the insecticide, and damage ceases at that point.
Tebufenozide is a mimic of a natural hormone that exists in the larvae of lepidopteran insects that stops natural development. Because of this, it has to be consumed by the insect. It takes time for it to work because the insect responds over time as opposed to a fast-acting nerve poison.
CAS No.: 112410-23-8
Molecular formula: C22H28N2O2
Molecular weight: 352.48
Specifications: 95% TC, 75% WP