Assessment of species specificity of moulting accelerating compounds in Lepidoptera: comparison of activity between <i>Bombyx mori</i> and <i>Spodoptera littoralis</i> by <i>in vitro</i> reporter and <i>in vivo</i> toxicity assays

Abstract

The present study demonstrated that species-specific ecdysone-agonist-based insecticides can be developed, but their species specificity is not based on differences in the activation of the ecdysone receptor but rather on unidentified in vivo parameters such as permeability of the cuticle, uptake/excretion by the gut or metabolic detoxification.