DYNAMIC-MODELS OF PESTICIDE EFFECTIVENESS

A general procedure for formulating mathematical models of pesticide effectiveness is presented, consisting of a differential equation for deposition and degradation of the pesticide in the environment, a differential equation for intake and clearance of the pesticide by the insects, and a functional equation relating the hazard function of the insects to their curve of pesticide retention. Differences among previously developed models for pesticide-induced mortality have not been recognized, and their application to new situations has been limited by these unrecognized differences. Examples of the proposed procedure are developed and applied to two contrasting data sets from the literature. Because the model is formulated using the hazard function, the procedure can be used for modeling and analyzing data from many different kinds of studies and for comparing results from different kinds of studies. © 1990 Entomological Society of America.