Effects of a Neem Sample on Protein Patterns of Bactrocera cucurbitae

Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) adults were reared with 5% honey solution, sugar, and protein-hydrolysate. Females were provided to lay eggs on larval rearing media in a bottle gourd. Twenty third-instar larvae of the same size and age were exposed to filter papers treated with varying doses of a neem sample in 90 mm diameter petri dishes for 24 h. A probit-mortality curve was drawn to determine the LC50 of the sample. LC50 dose of the sample was calculated as 5.6%. Thin layer chromatography was used to determine the effects of neem sample on the protein patterns of the treated insect. The Rf-values of separated proteins (peptides) were determined and compared to those of the untreated control.