HISTORY

OF INSECT
TOXICOLOGY
MICAH PORCAL ARELLADO
Course Instructor
ARELLADO, M. 2023
 Early History of Pesticides

Sulfur is used by the Greeks

" ••• to purge the hall and
the house and the court“
(Odyssey XXII, 492-494

1550 B.C 23 to 79 A.D.

1000 B. C

The Ebers Papyrus Pliny the Elder collected in his

recorded lists of Natural History many anecdotes
preparations to expel on the use of pesticides in the
fleas from the house previous three or four centuries
(Shepard, 1939)

ARELLADO, M. 2023
 Early History of Pesticides

Chinese were using arsenic

sulfides to control garden
insect

40 to 90 A.D 23 to 79 A.D.

900 A.D
Dioscorides, a Greek
physician (40 to 90 Romans use Veratrum album and
A.D.) knew of the toxic nigrum, two species of false
properties of sulfur hellebore as rodenticide (Shepard,
and of arsenic 1939)

ARELLADO, M. 2023
ARELLADO, M. 2023
 Early History of Pesticides
Use of tobacco as contact
insecticide for plant lice was
mentioned later in
the same century
Hydrocyanic acid, known to the
Egyptians and the Romans as a
poison, was used as a fumigant
to kill museum pests in insect
collections (Shepard, 1939)

1669 1807

1763 1883
the earliest known record
of arsenic as an Copper
insecticide in the compounds
Western World were known
mentioned its use with since 1807 to
honey as an ant have fungicidal
value
ARELLADO, M. 2023
ARELLADO, M. 2023
 Early History of Pesticides
Bordeaux
mixture Pest Control
(hydrated lime was
and copper revolutionized
sulfate) was first
used in France
1854
1990’s

1883 WW2

Carbon disulfide pesticides were

has been used mainly of
as an natural origin or
insect fumigant inorganic
compounds

ARELLADO, M. 2023
 Modern History of Pesticides

Year Discoveries
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)

synthesized by a German graduate student 1873

Paul Muller, (Swiss) discovers insecticidal activity saves
many soldiers' lives during WWII (body lice - typhus)
control insect vectors of human disease in the tropics
such an impact on human health that Muller wins
1930’s to 1940’s 1948 Nobel prize in medicine
During WWII both the Germans and the Allies working
on the development of organophosphates as nerve
gases. They discover the insecticidal properties of these
chemicals.
After WWII development of other chlorinated
hydrocarbons and organophosphates as pesticides.
ARELLADO, M. 2023
 Modern History of Pesticides

Year Discoveries
The first organic selective herbicides were being
developed, originally as a result of work on chemicals to
regulate plant growth:

1930’s to 1940’s 1. 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA), 2,4-

dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D)
2. 4,6 dinitro-o-cresol (DNOC). The immediate impact was
on cereal crops and, to a much lesser extent, on peas
and grassland
Age of Pesticides', divided by Metcalf (1980) into three
phases: the Era of Optimism (1946-1962), the Era of
1946 onwards
Doubt (1962-1976) and the Era of Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) (1976-).

ARELLADO, M. 2023
 Modern History of Pesticides

Year Discoveries
1940’s and the believed that generous doses of simple organics could
early 1950’s entirely eradicate pests and the problems they caused
"The Green Revolution"
Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers "the answer to world
hunger"
1950’s early 60’s
Trend away from understanding pest phenology,
density or damage potential and toward pure chemical
approach.
"The Silent Spring"
Rachel Carson publishes the book "Silent Spring" and
brings the issue of pesticide safety to the attention of
1962
the public:
1. Adverse effects on wildlife, water quality, human
health?
ARELLADO, M. 2023
 Modern History of Pesticides

Year Discoveries
2. DDT found in milk and foods (biomagnification)
3. Resistance of pests to pesticides ("super bugs" & weeds)
1962
4. Response to book leads eventually to public policy
changes in 1970s.
Serious beginning of research on IPM approaches to
pest control
USDA creates nationwide IPM Program in Land Grant
Universities
1970s
EPA created & given jurisdiction over pesticide
registration & regulation
Institutes Pesticide Education Programs in Land Grant
Universities

ARELLADO, M. 2023
 Modern History of Pesticides

Year Discoveries
XVth International Congress of Entomology firmly
1976 rejected the widespread use of broad-spectrum and
persistent pesticides in favor of an IPM approach.
Increase in IPM research
1980s Beginning of genetic engineering applications in
agriculture
New genetically engineered Bt crops (corn, potatoes)
come into use
How will these fit into IPM programs?
Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) brings changes to
1990s
pesticide laws in US
New emphasis on softer, and/or more specifically
targeted, low-volume chemicals
Issues of children's health emphasized
ARELLADO, M. 2023
 Modern History of Pesticides

Year Discoveries

Pest management is
always changing
and we cannot
predict the future.
2000 In fact, even in the
and same time period,
beyond people have
different ideas about
how pest
management should
be carried out.

ARELLADO, M. 2023
 References
A Short History of Pest Management. 2022. Pennstate Extension.
College of Agricultural Sciences. The Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved
from: https://extension.psu.edu/a-short-history-of-pest-
management?fbclid=IwAR23J0OmlNaRnRqpM9kTEy-
SZdONDbH6TvjltPU688VEsyovlrZEqs8TJrg

Costa, L.G. 1bxicology of Pesticides: A Brief History. Department of

Environmental Health, SC-34
University of Washington

Handley, J. 2019. Pesticides - A brief history and analysis. Retrieved

from: https://www.pitchcare.com/news-media/pesticides-a-brief-history-and-
analysis.html?fbclid=IwAR0-
B92ynsNYop82y2qllft2E3NxsDLDxMK4D7HxdLVR_9RojZiGI0ggD0I

ARELLADO, M. 2023
ARELLADO, M. 2023