ABSTRACT
As mentioned earlier, insecticides are divided into many groups according to their chemical structures. However, different groups of insecticides can share the same mode of action, for example, organophosphates and carbamates. In this chapter, we will learn how these insecticides affect different biochemical sites of insects, leading to their death. As you will see, a majority of these insecticides are poisons that interfere with various target sites in the nervous system. Sufcient background information on the affected physiological processes will be given so that the modes of action of insecticides can be clearly understood. Unfortunately, to date, we still do not know the modes of action of certain insecticides at the molecular level. Several references are useful for understanding the modes of action of insecticides and acaricides: O’Brien (1978), Coats (1982), Corbett et al. (1984), Matsumura (1985), Bloomquist (1996, 1999), Clark (1995), Ishaaya (2001), Hollingworth (2001), Scharf (2003), Ware and Whitacre (2004), Dekeyser (2005), Lummen (2007), Casida (2009), and Casida and Durkin (2013). Readers are also referred to the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC) website (www.irac-online.org) for information on the most recent mode of action and new chemistries.
