JP7659296B2 - Tick repellent - Google Patents

Description

Patent Law Article 30, Paragraph 2 (Part 1) Publication Date February 28, 2020 Publication Abstracts of the 64th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology

Patent Law Article 30, Paragraph 2 (Part 2) Publication Date February 28, 2020 Publication Abstracts of the 64th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology

Patent Law Article 30, Paragraph 2 (Part 3) Publication date May 25, 2020 Publication Japanese Journal of Acarology Vol. 29 No. 1

This disclosure relates to mite control agents, etc.

Mites are known to cause damage to agricultural crops, and spider mites in particular are important agricultural pests that inflict damage on cultivated crops and other plant tissues by sucking sap from the undersides of leaves. A variety of methods are used to control them, including pesticides containing various effective acaricidal ingredients such as pyrazole-pyridazinone, macrolide, pyrrole, and oxazoline, biological control using biological pesticides such as phytoseiid mites and filamentous fungi, physical control using sticky boards and ultraviolet light irradiation, and the use of oils derived from natural products as stomatal blocking agents.

JP 2018-024583 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-72503 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 52-151149

Currently, synthetic acaricides are widely used, but due to the biological characteristics of spider mites, such as parthenogenesis, high reproductive ability, rapid generational change, inbreeding, and a high ability to metabolize foreign substances, they easily develop drug resistance in a short period of time, and the short period during which the drug loses its effectiveness is an issue. In fact, even among the drugs that have been developed and sold so far, the changes in the core acaricidal ingredients are particularly remarkable compared to other pest species. In addition, although biological control is effective, it is necessary to constantly replenish the natural enemy species used as biological pesticides, which is a problem in that it places a large financial burden on farmers when considering sustainable use.

The inventors discovered that Kanzawa spider mites avoid the tracks (footprints) of the water ants, and have made further improvements.

The present disclosure includes, for example, the subject matter described in the following sections:
Item 1.
A mite control agent containing ingredients derived from ants.
Item 2.
A mite control agent comprising a straight-chain or branched unsaturated hydrocarbon having 21 to 50 carbon atoms.
Item 3.
The linear unsaturated hydrocarbon has 21 to 35 carbon atoms,
Item 3. The mite control agent according to Item 2, wherein the branched unsaturated hydrocarbon has 23 to 50 carbon atoms.
Item 4.
Item 4. The mite control agent according to Item 2 or 3, having 1 to 6 unsaturated bonds.
Item 5.
the linear unsaturated hydrocarbon has 1 to 3 unsaturated bonds,
Item 5. The mite control agent according to any one of Items 2 to 4, wherein the branched unsaturated hydrocarbon has 1 to 6 unsaturated bonds.
Item 6.
Item 6. The mite control agent according to any one of Items 2 to 5, wherein the branched chain constituting the branched unsaturated hydrocarbon is an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms.
Item 7.
Item 7. The mite control agent according to any one of Items 1 to 6, wherein the mite is a spider mite.

A new mite control agent is provided.

Schematic diagrams of (a, b) the method for evaluating the avoidance of ant traces on leaves by spider mites, and (c) the method for evaluating the repellency of ant extracts by spider mites using a T-shaped path. 1 shows the results of evaluating the duration of avoidance of the tracks of water ants by the Kanzawa spider mites.

Each embodiment included in the present disclosure will be described in further detail below.
The mite control agent included in the present disclosure includes an unsaturated hydrocarbon. The mite control agent included in the present disclosure may also include an unsaturated hydrocarbon as an active ingredient. In this specification, the mite control agent may be referred to as the "mite control agent of the present disclosure."

The unsaturated hydrocarbons used in the present disclosure may be straight-chain unsaturated hydrocarbons or branched unsaturated hydrocarbons. From the viewpoint of ease of availability, straight-chain unsaturated hydrocarbons are preferred.

The unsaturated hydrocarbon used in the present disclosure preferably has a carbon number of 21 to 50. The upper or lower limit of the range may be, for example, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, or 49. More specifically, it may be, for example, 23 to 47, or 23 to 31.
The number of carbon atoms in the linear unsaturated hydrocarbon used in the present disclosure may be 21 to 35. The upper or lower limit of the range may be, for example, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, or 34. More specifically, it may be, for example, 23 to 35.
The carbon number of the branched unsaturated hydrocarbon used in the present disclosure may be 23 to 50. The upper or lower limit of the range may be, for example, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, or 49. More specifically, it may be, for example, 25 to 47.

The unsaturated bond in the unsaturated hydrocarbon used in the present disclosure is preferably a double bond.
The unsaturated hydrocarbon used in the present disclosure preferably has at least 1 unsaturated bond. The upper or lower limit of the range may be, for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. More specifically, the number may be, for example, 1 to 6.
The number of unsaturated bonds in the linear unsaturated hydrocarbon used in the present disclosure may be 1 to 3. For example, it may be 1 to 2, or it may be 1.
The number of unsaturated bonds in the branched unsaturated hydrocarbon used in the present disclosure may be 1 to 6. For example, it may be 1 to 5, it may be 1 to 4, it may be 1 to 3, or it may be 1 to 2.
The unsaturated hydrocarbon used in the present disclosure is not particularly limited, but when there is one double bond, it may be an unsaturated hydrocarbon having an unsaturated bond at the 7th, 9th, or 11th position. When there are two double bonds, it may be an unsaturated hydrocarbon having an unsaturated bond in combination with the structure [-C=CCC=C-] at the 7th and 10th positions, or the 9th and 12th positions. When there are three double bonds, it may be an unsaturated hydrocarbon having an unsaturated bond in combination with the structure [-C=CCC=CCC=C-] at the 7th, 10th, and 13th positions, or the 9th, 12th, and 15th positions.
The unsaturated hydrocarbon used in the present disclosure may have a double bond with a stereoconfiguration of either E or Z. In particular, when the unsaturated hydrocarbon has one double bond, the stereoconfiguration of the double bond is preferably Z.

In the branched unsaturated hydrocarbons used in the present disclosure, examples of the branched chain include alkyl groups having 1 to 3 carbon atoms (e.g., methyl groups, ethyl groups, propyl groups, etc.). Among these, methyl groups are preferred.

In the branched unsaturated hydrocarbons used in the present disclosure, the number of branches may be, for example, 1 to 4. The upper or lower limit of the range may be, for example, 2 or 3. More specifically, it may be, for example, 2 to 3.

The unsaturated hydrocarbons used in the present disclosure may be synthetic or extracts, and may be extracted from natural products or commercially available, without any particular limitation. Examples of extracts include solvent extraction of ant secretions. Examples of ants include black mountain ants (Formica japonica), red-spotted ants (Pristomyrmex punctatus), brown-spotted ants (Tetramorium caespitum), Crematogaster ants, and Lasius ants. Among these, black mountain ants (Formica japonica) and red-spotted ants (Pristomyrmex punctatus) are preferred. Examples of secretions include those from the tarsus and body surface. Examples of solvents include hexane and diethyl ether. Among these, hexane is preferred.

More specifically, examples of unsaturated hydrocarbons used in the present disclosure include linear unsaturated hydrocarbons such as tricosene, pentacosene, heptacosene, nonacosene, hentriacontene, pentacosadiene, and pentatriacontene, and examples of branched unsaturated hydrocarbons include methylpentatriacontene, trimethylpentatriacontene, trimethylpentatriacontadiene, trimethylheptatriacontene, trimethylheptatriacontadiene, trimethylheptatriacontatriene, dimethylnonatriacontene, trimethylnonatriacontene, trimethylnonatriacontene, trimethylnonatriacontene, methylhentetracosene, and methylpentatriacontene. Examples of the tetracontatriene include pentacosene, dimethylpentacosene, dimethylpentacosene, trimethylpentacosene, methyltritetracontatriene, dimethyltritetracontatriene, dimethyltritetracontatriene, trimethyltritetracontatriene, dimethylpentatetracontadiene, dimethylpentatetratriacontatriene, dimethylpentatetracontatetraene, trimethylpentatetracontatriene, dimethylheptatetracontadiene, dimethylheptatetracontatriene, dimethylheptatetracontatetraene, trimethylheptatetracontatriene, etc. More preferred examples include pentacosene, heptacosene, nonacosene, and hentriacontene. Even more preferred examples include 9Z-pentacosene, 9Z-heptacosene, 9Z-nonacosene, and 9Z-hentriacontene.

The unsaturated hydrocarbons can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

In the mite control agent of the present disclosure, the content of linear or branched unsaturated hydrocarbons having 21 to 50 carbon atoms is not particularly limited and can be set appropriately within the range of, for example, 0.1 to 100% by mass.

When the mite control agent of the present disclosure contains two or more types of linear or branched unsaturated hydrocarbons having 21 to 50 carbon atoms, the content ratio of the linear or branched unsaturated hydrocarbons having 21 to 50 carbon atoms is not particularly limited and can be set as appropriate.
In the mite control agent of the present disclosure, the content of linear or branched unsaturated hydrocarbons having 21 to 33 carbon atoms, more preferably linear or branched unsaturated hydrocarbons having 23 to 31 carbon atoms, relative to the total amount of linear or branched unsaturated hydrocarbons having 21 to 50 carbon atoms may be 5% by mass or more. The upper or lower limit of the range may be, for example, about 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100% by mass. More specifically, it may be, for example, 5 to 100% by mass.
In the mite control agent of the present disclosure, the content of linear or branched unsaturated hydrocarbons having 21 to 50 carbon atoms and one double bond may be 5% by mass or more relative to the total amount of linear or branched unsaturated hydrocarbons having 21 to 50 carbon atoms. The upper or lower limit of the range may be, for example, about 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100% by mass. More specifically, it may be, for example, 5 to 100% by mass.
In the mite control agent of the present disclosure, the content of linear unsaturated hydrocarbons having 21 to 50 carbon atoms may be 5% by mass or more relative to the total amount of linear or branched unsaturated hydrocarbons having 21 to 50 carbon atoms. The upper or lower limit of the range may be, for example, about 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100% by mass. More specifically, it may be, for example, 5 to 100% by mass.

The mite control agent of the present disclosure contains the above-mentioned components and may further contain other components. Examples of such other components include pharma- ceutically acceptable bases, carriers, and additives (e.g., solvents, dispersants, emulsifiers, buffers, stabilizers, excipients, binders, lubricants, antioxidants, preservatives, etc.). These components may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The mite control agent of the present disclosure can be prepared by combining the above-mentioned components and, if necessary, other components in a conventional manner.

The form of the mite control agent disclosed herein is not particularly limited, and may be in a solid form such as a powder, granules, tablet, or capsule; or in a semi-solid or liquid form such as a liquid, emulsion, or gel.

The mite that the mite control agent of the present disclosure targets is preferably an animal belonging to the order Acari. More preferably, it is an animal belonging to the suborder Scutellaria, and even more preferably, it is an animal belonging to the family Tetranychidae. Examples of animals belonging to the family Tetranychidae include Tetranychus kanzawai, Tetranychus urticae, Panonychus citri, and Panonychus ulmi.
Furthermore, the mites targeted by the mite control agent of the present disclosure may be mites that are preyed upon by ants.

The mite control agent of the present disclosure can be used to control mites. In addition, since the mite control agent of the present disclosure has a repellent effect against mites, it can be more suitably used as a mite repellent.
Since the mite control agent of the present disclosure contains a predator-derived component, it is expected that resistance will not easily develop, which is expected to enable long-term use.

The mite control agent disclosed herein can be applied to, for example, plants such as crops and fruit trees, the soil in which they are grown, undergrowth that serves as a habitat for mites, materials of facilities that serve as routes for mites to move (e.g., vinyl greenhouses and glass greenhouses), house walls, concrete surfaces, etc.

Plants to which the mite control agent of the present disclosure may be applied are not particularly limited as long as mites can establish on them, and examples include vegetables such as beans, eggplants, cucumbers, potatoes, strawberries, and melons; fruit trees such as apples, pears, peaches, persimmons, citrus, and apricots; and flowering plants such as roses, chrysanthemums, and carnations.

The mite control agent of the present disclosure may be applied as is, or may be applied suspended in a solvent such as water.

The method of application of the mite control agent of the present disclosure is not particularly limited and can be appropriately set depending on the form of the mite control agent of the present disclosure. For example, it can be sprayed onto plants, soil, facility materials, house walls, concrete surfaces, etc.

The application amount of the mite control agent of the present disclosure is not particularly limited, and can be set appropriately depending on the form of the mite control agent of the present disclosure, the target of application, etc.

The present disclosure also includes mite control agents that contain ant-derived components.
The ant-derived component is preferably an ant secretion compound. Examples of ants include Formica japonica, Pristomyrmex punctatus, Tetramorium caespitum, Crematogaster, Lasius, etc. Among them, Formica japonica and Pristomyrmex punctatus are preferred. Examples of the secretion site include the tarsus and the body surface.
The ant-secreted compounds used in the present disclosure may be compounds secreted by ants, or may be artificially synthesized compounds as long as they have the same structure as the secreted compounds.
As the ant secretion compound, unsaturated hydrocarbons are preferable. For the unsaturated hydrocarbons, the above description can be applied.

In this specification, the term "comprising" includes "consisting essentially of" and "consisting of." In addition, the present disclosure includes any combination of the constituent elements described in this specification.

Furthermore, the various characteristics (properties, structures, functions, etc.) described for each embodiment of the present disclosure above may be combined in any way to identify the subject matter encompassed by the present disclosure. In other words, the present disclosure encompasses all subject matter consisting of any combination of the combinable characteristics described in this specification.

The contents of this disclosure will be specifically explained using the following experimental examples. However, this disclosure is in no way limited to these. In the following, unless otherwise specified, experiments were performed under atmospheric pressure and room temperature conditions. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, "%" means "mass %". Furthermore, the blending amount values of each component listed in each table also indicate "mass %" unless otherwise specified.

The spider mite Tetranychus kanzawai was collected in Kyoto, Japan in 2018. The two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae was collected in Nara, Japan in 1998. These populations were reared on fully expanded first leaves of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants pressed onto water-saturated cotton in Petri dishes. The water-soaked cotton acted as a barrier to prevent the mites from escaping. The leaf dishes were placed in transparent plastic containers and stored at 25°C, 60% relative humidity, and a photoperiod of 16L (7:00-23:00):8D.

More than 100 Pristomyrmex punctatus Smith and Formica japonica Motschoulsky ants were collected from Kyoto . The ants were kept in artificial ant colonies in clear plastic containers. The ants were provided with water and honey twice a week and freshly killed insects as a protein source every week.

Experimental Example 1: Avoidance of ant tracks (walking tracks) on leaves by spider mitesTo investigate whether spider mites avoid ant tracks on the surface of food plants, an experiment was conducted using a device in which leaves with and without ant tracks were connected. All experiments described below were conducted between 13:00 and 17:00. A flat bean leaf measuring 10 x 20 mm was cut into two equal pieces measuring 10 x 10 mm, and one leaf was placed on a wet paper towel in front of the entrance to the ant nest, like a doormat, to leave ant tracks (Figure 1a).
A leaf with more than 20 ants walking across it on wet cotton was moved next to a leaf with no other ant traces. Then, 2-4 day old mature female Kanzawa spider mites or two-spotted spider mites were placed on a piece of parafilm placed at the border of both leaves (Fig. 1b). After 1 hour, the leaves on which the prey mites were established were recorded. All females were confirmed to have established on a particular leaf position within that time. 28 two-spotted spider mites and 27 Kanzawa spider mites were used to evaluate the traces of the Japanese ant, and 16 two-spotted spider mites and 12 Kanzawa spider mites were used to evaluate the traces of the Japanese ant. The data were subjected to a binomial-opposition binomial test with a common null hypothesis that spider mites have equal probability of establishing on the two squares (i.e., 0.5). The results are shown in Table 1. In the table, Trace+ refers to the test plot with ant traces, and Trace- refers to the control plot without ant traces.

As shown in Table 1, it was confirmed that the Kanzawa spider mite, which lives sympatrically in the field with the reticulated ant, which preys on spider mites, avoids traces of the reticulated ant. It was also found that the two-spotted spider mite, which rarely lives sympatrically with the reticulated ant in the field, also avoids traces of the reticulated ant. Furthermore, it was found that the Kanzawa spider mite and the two-spotted spider mite also avoid traces of the Japanese mountain ant.

Experimental Example 2: Duration of avoidance of spider mites by water ants To examine whether the effectiveness of ant traces in repelling spider mites decreases over time, leaves with water ant traces were prepared as in Experimental Example 1 and stored in water-soaked cotton for 1 hour (n=28), 3 hours (n=37), or 24 hours (n=32). The prepared leaves were transferred next to leaves without ant traces that had been stored for the same period, and the avoidance response of female spider mites was compared in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1. The results are shown in Figure 2. In the figure, + indicates the test area with ant traces, and - indicates the control area without ant traces.

As shown in Figure 2, females of the Kanzawa spider mite significantly avoided the traces of the water ant on leaves stored for 0 and 1 hour, but did not avoid the traces on leaves stored for 3 and 24 hours (binomial test). This suggests that the repellent effect of the Kanzawa spider mite against the traces of the water ant lasts for at least 1 hour.

Experimental Example 3: Repellency of the extract of the ant by the Kanzawa spider mite To extract the chemical traces of the ant, 20 ants were introduced into a glass petri dish (45 mm in diameter, 16 mm in depth) and covered with a slide glass (76 × 24 mm, Matsunami Glass Co., Ltd., Kishiwada City). After 1 h, all ants were removed and the inner wall of the dish was washed with 500 μL of hexane. To combine all the extracts and obtain enough extracts for the next experiment, this procedure was repeated 20 times with different ants to obtain the trace extracts of the ant. For the control solvent, the same amount of hexane was poured into the dish that had been left without ants for 1 h, and the solvent was combined in the above manner.
To examine the repellency of the ant trail extract by females of the Kanzawa spider mite, an experiment was conducted using T-shaped filter paper tracks (35 × 35 mm, 2 mm wide) (Fig. 1c). One track (17.5 mm long) of the T-track was applied with 0.175 ant equivalents (i.e., 5 μL) of the hexane extract (i.e., 0.01 ant equivalents/mm) and the other track was applied with the control solvent hexane. After the solvent was evaporated from the tracks, the T-tracks were hung vertically and a 2-day-old female Kanzawa spider mite was introduced to the lower end of the T-track and the first track that the female walked to the far end was recorded. Each female mite and T-track were used only once.
The same path apparatus was also used to examine the repellency of 6-amyl-2-pyrone, the active substance of the trail pheromone of the ant, by females of T. kanzawai. The compound was purchased as a reagent (Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) and diluted with hexane to concentrations of 10 and 1 pg/μL. The solutions were applied to one path of the T-shaped path at 0.011 and 0.0011 ant equivalents/mm, respectively. The same amount of hexane, the control solvent, was applied to the other path. The repellency of females of T. kanzawai was tested in the same manner as described above. The results are shown in Table 2 (binomial test). In the table, Trace+ means the test area where the trace extract or trail pheromone was applied, and Trace- means the control area where the trace extract and trail pheromone were not applied.

The Kanzawa spider mites were significantly less likely to choose paths coated with the extract of reticulated ant trails (binomial test, P<0.0001), confirming that they avoid the extract of reticulated ant trails. However, no significant difference was observed when the trails were coated with the trail pheromone of reticulated ants (binomial test). This suggests that the Kanzawa spider mites do not avoid the trail pheromone of reticulated ants.

Experimental Example 4: Repellency of trace extracts and body surface wax extracts of Japanese black wood ants and Japanese shriveled ants. Trace extracts were obtained in the same manner as in Experimental Example 3 using Japanese black wood ants and Japanese shriveled ants.
Separately, each type of ant was immersed in 0.1 mL of hexane for 5 minutes to obtain a surface wax extract, and the hydrocarbon components eluted with hexane were fractionated by silica gel column chromatography.

Using the same route device as in Experiment 3, the repellency of female Kanzawa spider mites was examined using extracts of various ant traces and the equivalent amount of hydrocarbon components on their body surfaces. The results are shown in Table 3.

The Kanzawa spider mites were significantly less likely to choose paths that had been coated with the cuticular hydrocarbon components of the Amplexicaule ant as well as the trace extract of the Amplexicaule ant (binomial test, P<0.001), confirming that the Kanzawa spider mites avoid the cuticular hydrocarbons of the Amplexicaule ant as well as the trace extract of the Amplexicaule ant. It was also confirmed that the Kanzawa spider mites avoided the cuticular hydrocarbon components of the Amplexicaule ant (binomial test, P<0.05) just as they avoided the trace extract of the Amplexicaule ant (binomial test, P<0.001).

Experimental Example 5: Trace extract and cuticular hydrocarbon composition of the black wood ant and the amplexicaule ant The trace extract and cuticular hydrocarbon components obtained from the black wood ant and the amplexicaule ant were subjected to gas chromatographic analysis, respectively, by the same method as in Experimental Examples 3 and 4, and the component compositions of each ant were compared. The cuticular hydrocarbon components of each constituent were subjected to gas chromatographic direct mass spectrometry, and the chemical structure was estimated from each obtained mass spectrum and the retention index value on the gas chromatograph. The composition of the components of the trace extract was estimated by comparing the retention index value on the gas chromatograph with the cuticular hydrocarbon components. The composition ratio was calculated from the peak area ratio in each chromatograph.

For gas chromatographic analysis, a Shimadzu gas chromatograph analyzer GC2014 was used, and a methylsilicon-based non-polar column with a length of 15 m, an inner diameter of 0.25 mm, and a film thickness of 0.10 μm was used as the analytical column. Sample injection was performed by splitless injection for 1 min, and a hydrogen flame detector (FID) was used to detect the separated components. The temperature of the sample injection port was 300°C, and the temperature of the column oven was set to a maximum temperature of 320°C. For gas chromatograph-directed mass analysis, a GCMS system consisting of an Agilent gas chromatograph GC6890 and a JEOL mass spectrometer SX102 was used. A methylsilicon-based non-polar column of the same specifications as the GC analysis was used as the analytical column, and the sample was injected by the cool on-column method. EI mass spectrum was measured at an ionization voltage of 70 eV, and the measurement mass range was set to m/z 40-700.
The analysis results are shown in Tables 4 and 5.

As shown in Table 4, it was found that the trace extract and cuticular hydrocarbon components of the Japanese black wood ant contain straight-chain hydrocarbons. Among them, it was confirmed that the hydrocarbons with carbon numbers of 25, 27, 29, and 31 were abundant. As for unsaturated hydrocarbons, an unsaturated hydrocarbon with one double bond (a double bond at the 9th carbon counting from the end) was detected.
As shown in Table 5, it was found that the trace extract and cuticular hydrocarbon components of the water ant contain many branched hydrocarbons in addition to straight-chain hydrocarbons. Among them, it was confirmed that there were many hydrocarbons with carbon numbers of 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, and 47. It was also found that the unsaturated hydrocarbons contained in the trace extract of the water ant have a larger number of double bonds than the unsaturated hydrocarbons contained in the trace extract and cuticular hydrocarbon components of the Japanese wood ant.

Experimental Example 6: Repellency of cuticular hydrocarbons (saturated hydrocarbon components, unsaturated hydrocarbon components) derived from the Japanese spider mites and the Japanese wood ant by the Kanzawa spider mites. The cuticular hydrocarbon components extracted and fractionated from the Japanese spider ants and the Japanese wood ant were subjected to silica gel column chromatography containing 10% silver nitrate to fractionate the components which were successively eluted with hexane, a diethyl ether-hexane mixed solvent (ether content 1%, 2%, 3%, 5%, 30%, 50%) and 100% diethyl ether, and the components were fractionated into saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbon components.
In the case of the Japanese wood ant, the unsaturated hydrocarbon components with an unsaturation degree of 1 were fractionated into a single fraction. In the case of the Japanese wood ant, the unsaturated hydrocarbon components were fractionated into multiple fractions depending on the degree of unsaturation, so these fractions were combined to form the unsaturated hydrocarbon components and used in the repellency test.
The repellency test was carried out in the same manner as in Experimental Example 3, with the treatment dose for the Japanese ant being 0.175 ant equivalents and for the Japanese wood ant being 0.1 ant equivalents.

It was confirmed that the repellent reaction of the Kanzawa spider mite to the hydrocarbon components on the surface of the ant is caused by unsaturated hydrocarbon components, not saturated hydrocarbon components (binomial test, P<0.05). It was also confirmed that the repellent reaction of the Kanzawa spider mite to the hydrocarbon components on the surface of the ant is caused by unsaturated hydrocarbon components, not saturated hydrocarbon components (binomial test, P<0.001).

Experimental Example 7: Repellency of unsaturated hydrocarbons contained in extracts of traces of Japanese black wood ants by Kanzawa spider mites Using the unsaturated hydrocarbon compounds contained in Japanese black wood ants, repellency was evaluated using a T-shaped path in the same manner as in Experimental Example 3. The number of individuals that settled on the path where unsaturated hydrocarbons were applied (test area) and the number of individuals that settled on the path that did not contain unsaturated hydrocarbons (control area) are shown below.

When a mixture containing 2.3% 9Z-pentacosene, 66.7% 9Z-heptacosene, 28.7% 9Z-nonacosene, and 2.3% 9Z-hentriacontene (the same ratios as the contents listed in Table 4) was used, the ratio of control to test area was 24:7 (binomial test, p<0.01). It was confirmed that the mixture was significantly repelled by the Kanzawa spider mites.
When a mixture containing 25% 9Z-pentacosene, 25% 9Z-heptacosene, 25% 9Z-nonacosene, and 25% 9Z-hentriacontene was used, the ratio of control to test area was 28:3 (binomial test, p<0.001). It was confirmed that the mixture significantly repelled the Kanzawa spider mites.
When mixtures containing 50% 9Z-heptacosene and 50% 9Z-nonacosene were used, the ratio of control to test area was 22:9 (binomial test, p<0.05). It was confirmed that the mixtures significantly repelled the Kanzawa spider mites.
When 9Z-heptacosene was used, the ratio of control group to test group was 22:9 (binomial test, p<0.05). It was confirmed that the mixture significantly repelled the Kanzawa spider mites.
When 9Z-nonacosene was used, the ratio of control group to test group was 23:8 (binomial test, p<0.05). It was confirmed that the mixture significantly repelled the Kanzawa spider mites.

Claims (5)

A mite control agent comprising the following (1) or (2):
(1) Hexane extract of ant traces;
(2) A hydrocarbon-containing hexane-soluble fraction of a hexane extract of ant cuticle wax . A mite control agent containing a linear or branched unsaturated hydrocarbon having 23 to 47 carbon atoms ;
Here, the unsaturated bond of the unsaturated hydrocarbon is a double bond, the number of unsaturated bonds is 1 to 4, the number of branches in the branched unsaturated hydrocarbon is 1 to 3, and the branched chain constituting the branched unsaturated hydrocarbon is a methyl group . 3. The mite control agent according to claim 2, wherein the unsaturated hydrocarbon has 23 to 31 carbon atoms and 1 to 3 unsaturated bonds. The mite control agent according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the number of carbon atoms in the unsaturated hydrocarbon is 23 to 31, the number of unsaturated bonds is 1 or 2, and the number of branches in the branched unsaturated hydrocarbon is 1 or 2. The mite control agent according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the mite is a spider mite.

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