Bioactivity of Carlina acaulis essential oil and its main component to the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae: ingestion toxicity, electrophysiological and behavioural insights

In recent years, botanical insecticides based on essential oils (EOs), or their main components, have received much attention as promising tools for Integrated Pest Management, due to their environmental safety and low side effects on non-target organisms. In this study, Carlina acaulis EO and its main component, carlina oxide, recently proven to be effective larvicidal and adulticidal agents against some insect pests, were analyzed for their toxicity, electroantennographic (EAG), and behavioral responses to adult olive fruit fly (Bactrocera oleae). The C. acaulis EO was more toxic to the tephritid than the carlina oxide, and both were more toxic to the same insect pest than EOs from other …