Insecticidal effect of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mentha pulegium</Emphasis> L. and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mentha suaveolens</Emphasis> Ehrh. hydrosols against a pest of citrus, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Toxoptera aurantii</Emphasis> (Aphididae)

Essential oils proved their efficiency as natural insecticides to fight many pests of stored products and crops whereas the hydrosols have not been evaluated yet. The objective of this work is to assess the insecticidal effect of hydrosols extracted from Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. and Mentha pulegium L. toward an insect pest of citrus, Toxoptera aurantii (Homoptera, Aphididae). The extraction of hydrosols was carried out by hydro-distillation using Clevenger apparatus and then the chemical composition was identified by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The chemical composition of two hydrosols revealed the abundance of hydrophilic and oxygenated compounds as piperitenone oxide and carvacrol. Different concentrations of each hydrosol were separately diluted in distilled water and applied topically to aphids. The results of this investigation have shown a high insecticidal effect, and the M. suaveolens hydrosol is more effective against citrus pests than that of M. pulegium L. Consequently, these natural compounds can be used in the management of aphids on citrus.