The effect of biosurfactant isolated from <i>Staphylococcus hominis</i> as a pesticide on red flour beetle larvae

Biosurfactants are surface active biomolecules that are produced by microorganisms and have diffetent applications. In recent years, these biological molecules have received much attention due to their special properties such as specificity, low toxicity and easy preparation. The effect of biosurfactant produced by Staphylococcus hominis on red flour beetle larvae (Tribolium castaneum) was investigated. This experiment was done with three replications by different concentrations, and the results were analysed by SAS software. The results of the mean mortality percentage showed that the mentioned bacterial biosurfactant at a concentration of 10000 µg/g on the ninth day of treatment with 66.67% had the highest effect on larval mortality. LD50 was evaluated as 6395758/49, 1131823.60 and 15359.4 µg/g on the fifth, seventh and ninth days, respectively. The results showed that the biosurfactant produced by S. hominis had an acceptable ability to control T. castaneum.