Process of Pyriproxyfen Research

In 1981 when juvenoid research was started at Sumitomo Chemical, insecticide research was focused mainly on pyrethroids that act quickly on insects and have a wide insecticidal spectrum. However, the appearance of resistant insects owing 

Although this compound did not show insecticidal activity against insects other than spider mites in the primary screening, it changed the body color of the tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura, to red. The compound was presumed to be a juvenoid with a completely different action mechanism from the conventional insecticides, and this was confirmed by a biological test, the Galleria wax test [15]. 

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