The chive maggot, Bradysia odoriphaga (Diptera: Sciaridae), is the major pest that damages Chinese chive in China. Benzothiazole is a volatile compound derived from microorganisms secondary metabolites and has fumigant activity against B. odoriphaga. However, the sublethal effects of benzothiazole need to be evaluated before registration and application, to fully understand the potential for control of this pest. Laboratory investigations showed that sublethal concentrations (LC10 and LC30) of benzothiazole decreased the survival rate and the fecundity of B. odoriphaga compared with control. However, the developmental times of eggs, larvae and pupae, and the total preoviposition period were prolonged. Additionally, population parameters were significantly affected in the treated groups. The intrinsic rate of increase (r(m)) decreased to 0.1391 (LC10) and 0.1140 (LC30) day(-1) compared with the control population (0.1589 day(-1)). The net reproductive rate (R-0) in the control was 54.39 offspring/individual, whereas the R-0 decreased to 41.80 and 25.08 offspring/individual in the LC10 and LC30 treatments, respectively. This study demonstrated that sublethal concentrations of benzothiazole adversely affected the developmental time, fecundity and life table parameters of B. odoriphaga. Therefore, benzothiazole has the potential to be exploited as a natural derived fumigant for the control of this pest.
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