Toxicology - Case Study Example

These are antibiotics, miticides and neonicotinoid pesticides. This paper analyzes these three classes of chemicals. Neonicotinoids, commonly referred to as neonics, are a rather new variety of pesticides, having been manufactured and marketed for the last twenty or so years. Neonics are systemic pesticides(Hopwood, Vaughan and Shepherd 3). Contrary to contact pesticides that remain on the surface of the plant, systemics are absorbed by the plant and moved to all the tissues of the plant. Neonics can be sprayed at the root of a plant or sprayed onto its foliage.

Once applied, neonics remain active for many weeks, protecting the plant throughout the season. Several neonics are sold for application to lawns, pot plants and crops raised in a greenhouse. A miticide, also known as acaricide, is any chemical substance used to control ticks and mites that are not affected by regular pesticides. Miticides are specifically designed to destroy those species of ticks and mites that damage food crops and ornamental plants(Burley 5). Some of the most commonly used miticides include tetradifon, azobenzene and dicofol.

Most miticides are designed to kill the eggs and larvae of pests, but some also kill adult pests. Some miticides are known to be poisonous to honeybees and other useful insects. Despite knowledge of this adverse effect of miticides on honeybees, these substances continue to be manufactured and applied to crops widely in the country. An antibiotic is defined as a molecule or an agent that either kills or interferes with the growth of a living thing that is too tiny for the naked eye, also called a microorganism(Hawthorne and Dively 26).

These microorganisms include both fungi and bacteria. Selman Waksman first coined the term in 1942 in their journal articles. They used the term to describe any substance that a microorganism produces and inhibits the growth of other microorganisms. "Bactericidal" antibiotics kill bacteria