ABSTRACT
Peptide hormones that are insect-specifi c are synthesized by agricultural pest insects, as well as, by mosquitoes that are important vectors of detrimental human infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue, encephalitis and yellow fever. An excellent personal overview on the diseases that mosquitoes transmit and the impact on our lives, society and historical background has been published by Spielman and D’Antonio (2001) which is not the subject of this review. Nevertheless, I would like briefl y to mention that malaria kills more than one million people each year (mostly African children) and 300-500 million people are infected annually (WHO 1998). While tropical diseases spread by mosquitoes cause misery and death, agricultural pest insects cause major economic problems in growing and cultivating plants. Traditional controls using chemical insecticide to control mosquitoes and agricultural pests often cause environmental and human health problems, as well as, the development of resistance. Thus, new approaches are urgently needed to
Consultant to the USDA horticulture research lab, Ft. Pierce FL, President and CEO of Borovsky Consulting, Founder and partner of Vector Busters International.
