**Author details**

**Figure 14.** Colonisation of freshly cut leaves by *Leucoagaricus gongylophorus*. Panel A: LF—leaf fragment; HM—hy‐ phal mass. Magnification: ×100. Panel B: St—stomata; CL—cut leaf edge exposing mesophyll tissue. Magnification: ×200. Panel C: H—hyphae; LS—leaf surface. Magnification: ×1000. Panel D: CL—cut leaf edge; MS—exposed meso‐

Hydrolytic enzymes are directly involved in this energy transfer within the colony. Thus, studies that seek new insecticides have been conducted with an emphasis on plant extracts or pure substances that exhibit fungicidal, insecticidal, or enzyme inhibitory actions. The integrated application of these three types of functions should lead to the development of a new product with an effective control capacity. In this context, crude extracts of *Cedrela fissilis*, *Tapirira guianensis*, and *Simarouba versicolor* were evaluated and found to inhibit the activity of the pectinase enzyme present in the faecal liquid of *A. sexdens rubropilosa* [61,78]. These enzymes appear to be essential for the nutrition of the ants and the fungus in plant

Plant extracts that inhibit enzymatic activity may be useful for the control of leaf-cutting ants and constitute a new approach with respect to methods for controlling these insects. This type of control should be evaluated further to determine the viability and effectiveness of its use in the field and confirm its suggested potential. Phytochemical analyses of active extracts are

phyll tissue. Magnification: ×200. Source: Erthal Jr. et al., 2009 [69].

284 Insecticides - Development of Safer and More Effective Technologies

materials [71].

Juliana Cristina dos Santos1\*, Ronald Zanetti1 , Denilson Ferreira de Oliveira2 , Giovanna Cardoso Gajo2 and Dejane Santos Alves1

\*Address all correspondence to: ciencias\_biologicas@hotmail.com

1 Department of Entomology, Federal University of Lavras (Universidade Federal de Lavras - UFLA/Lavras), Minas Gerais, Brazil

2 Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Lavras (Universidade Federal de Lavras - UFLA/Lavras), Minas Gerais, Brazil

## **References**

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292 Insecticides - Development of Safer and More Effective Technologies

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69-1.

(2008).


**Chapter 10**

**Use of Botanicals and Safer Insecticides Designed in**

Insecticides are toxic substances that are used to kill or control insects. Insects pests affect humans directly by transmitting diseases or indirectly by attacking cultivated plants in farms or in storage, thus affecting food security. It is documented that the use of insecticides by man dates as far back as 1000 B.C, or earlier when burning of stone containing sulfur

Substances used to kill or control insect pests can also be referred to as pesticides, though the latter word has a wider scope of application, since other non-insect pests also exist.. Insecticides in wide use are mostly synthesized organic compounds, though there are some organic compounds of plant origin referred to as "botanicals", in addition to inorganic compounds of natural and synthetic origin. Certain insecticides of synthetic, or‐ ganic or inorganic origin function as insect repellents, causing little or no harm at all to the target insects. In most situations insecticides are applied by spraying or dusting onto plants and other surfaces traversed or fed upon by insects. However insecticides/pesti‐ cides of chemical origin can affect human health directly or indirectly by disrupting eco‐ logical systems that exist in rivers, lakes, oceans, streams, wetlands, forests and fields. Release of chemicals into the environment can have global impacts and there is therefore need to use safer analogues designed with safety in mind. A review of some "safe" in‐

Pesticides in general are toxic chemicals which adversely affect human health when mishan‐ dled. Their effects may be direct, for example, during application or when consumed in sui‐ cide bids. Also their effects may be indirect when the environment is contaminated either

> © 2013 Kareru et al.; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

© 2013 Kareru et al.; licensee InTech. This is a paper distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**Controlling Insects: The African Case**

Patrick Kareru, Zacchaeus Kipkorir Rotich and

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Esther Wamaitha Maina

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/53924

(brimstone) was used as a fumigant.

secticides used in Africa is presented.

**1. Introduction**
