Chemosterilants Against the Boll Weevil.1. Aziridines

Of 141 aziridinyl compounds tested against Anthonomus grandis Boheman, 56 had sterilizing activity when added to the insect diet. The most reliable indicator of effectiveness was a reduction in oviposition that persisted when treated males were crossed with untreated females. The most effective compounds were substituted bis (1-aziridinyl) phosphine oxides and sulfides, but the relatively high activity of substituted 1-aziridineethanols and other compounds indicated that the structure-activity relationships determined for this class of sterilants in the house fly, Musca domestica L.., were not applicable to A. grandis .