METABOLISM OF TRICHLORFON IN ANIMALS AND PLANTS

The fate of 32P-labeled trichlorfon in lygus bug adults, Lygus hesperus Knight, tobacco budworm larvae, Heliothis uirescens F., green lacewing larvae, Chrysopacarnea Stephens, white rats, and cotton plants was investigated. Differences in the susceptibility to trichlorfon among the insect species were influenced primarily by the rates at which the insecticide was absorbed. After treatment with trichlorfon, small amounts of dichlorvos, a highly toxicderivative of trichlorfon, were detected in the extracts of insects and plants, but not in the urine of rats. Both trichlorfonand dichlorvos were metabolized rapidly inall biological materials. Three previouslyunreported glycosidic conjugates, important in the detoxification of trichlorfon, were detected. One conjugate was a glucuronide found only in the urine of rats. The others were glucosides; one occurred in all insects and plants, and the other was found only in lygus adults. © 1969, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.