BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides has created serious problem for the aquatic flora and fauna, and also resulted in appearance of pesticide resistance in vector population. This study was designed to evaluate the biocontrol efficacy of aqueous and solvent extracts of mature leaves of Solanum nigrum L., against fresh water snail Lymnaea acuminata f. rufescens (Gr...

This study focuses on interactions between nanoparticles and a pesticide. The aim was to investigate how nano-sized aluminum oxide (410 nm) can alter the toxic effects of thiacloprid, even if no sorption between particles and the insecticide takes place. Thus, our study investigated a rather unexplored interaction. We conducted our research with larvae of Chironomus riparius and used thiaclopri...

To ascertain the tolerance mechanisms of aquatic organisms to artificial chemicals, intergenerational sensitivity changes Chironomus yoshimatsui a carbamate pesticide (pirimicarb) and pharmaceutical chemical (diazepam) were investigated. The larvae (<48-h-old) in each generation exposed both chemicals for 48 h then surviving chironomids cultured until fifth (F0–F4) without addition. 48-h 50% ef...

Background: Chironomids seem to be the main cause of occupational allergy to aquarium fi sh food. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of occupational sensitization to 3 different arthropod species used as components of aquarium fi sh food. Methods: The study sample comprised 8 workers from a fi sh food packing department. The control group comprised 40 atopic patient...

The injection of ecdysone (molting hormone) into chironomid larvae is known to result in the stimulation of specific gene activities (increased RNA synthesis). The morphological manifestation of this gene activation is the formation of a puff. Cytological and autoradiographic analysis of several regions of the salivary gland chromosomes of Chironomus tentans revealed that ecdysone also stimulat...

Sodium regulation was studied in fourth instar larvae of Chironomus dorsalis and Camptochironomus tentans. Both maintain a body sodium level well above that of the surrounding medium. The haemolymph contains approximately 90% of total body sodium and approximates to a single compartment freely exchanging sodium with the external medium. The anal papillae play a primary role in sodium regulation...

The interacting effects of cadmium toxicity and food limitation on the midge, Chironomus riparius, were studied during chronic exposure in laboratory experiments. If the food was supplied ad libitum, both larval developmental time and mortality of the larvae were negatively affected by cadmium concentrations of 2.0-16.2 micrograms/L. The number of eggs deposited per female and the mean life spa...

The joint toxicity of esfenvalerate and chlorpyrifos to the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and the aquatic midge larvae (Chironomus tentans) was determined using comparisons to independent action (IA) and concentration addition (CA) models. Equipotent mixtures of the two insecticides were used for initial testing of both species. A secondary study evaluating the effects of low-level chlor...

Biodiversity studies require species level analyses for the accurate assessment of community structures. However, while specialized taxonomic knowledge is only rarely available for routine identifications, DNA taxonomy and DNA barcoding could provide the taxonomic basis for ecological inferences. In this study, we assessed the community structure of sediment dwelling, morphologically cryptic Ch...