Supplementary material from "Effectiveness of Nanobioinsecticide Against the Mushroom Sciarid, Lycoriella Auripila (Diptera: Sciaridae)"

Plant oils (POs), due to their diverse bioactive properties, are considered suitable candidates for formulating of biopesticides. This study aimed to investigate the insecticidal potential of a nanoformulation containing -cinnamon, coconut, neem, eucalyptus, and citronella oils- against Lycoriella auripila flies in an edible mushroom cultivation medium. The efficacy of these formulations was compared to that of conventional synthetic insecticides, specifically thiamethoxam (25% WG) and imidacloprid (35% SC). The prepared nanoemulsion was characterized using various techniques including GC, TEM, SEM, DLS, and GC-MS. In a contact bioassay conducted on adult insects, the LC₅₀ value of the nano-bio-insecticide was recorded as 765.97 mg a.i. L⁻¹. However, the LC₅₀ values of the chemical insecticides showed higher toxicity, with imidacloprid at 116.41 mg a.i. L⁻¹ and thiamethoxam at 201.08 mg a.i. L⁻¹ proving more effective than the nano-bio-insecticide against adult sciarids. In contrast, when tested against larvae, the high-concentration nano-bioinsecticide achieved 92% mortality at 7 days’ post-treatment, whereas thiamethoxam and imidacloprid demonstrated 52% and 71% efficacy, respectively. Overall, these findings suggest that the developed nano-bioinsecticide shows promising potential for managing mushroom sciarids and could be effectively integrated into an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program within edible mushroom production facilities.