Chlorantraniliprole is a human-made insecticide. It is in a class of pesticides called anthranilic diamides.¹ It controls moth and butterfly caterpillars (larvae). It also controls some beetles and "true" bugs like aphids and spittlebugs.^2,3 Chlorantraniliprole was first registered for use in 2008.²

There are over 60 products that contain chlorantraniliprole. Some of these can only be used by licensed professionals. Products with chlorantraniliprole may be labeled for use on a variety of fruits, vegetables, potatoes, and rice. They are also used on cotton, turf grass, ornamental plants, public landscaped areas, and as seed treatments. Products containing chlorantraniliprole may be granules, concentrates, or liquids.^2,4 Chlorantraniliprole is considered a reduced-risk pesticide for certain uses by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA).⁴ See the text box about technical grade chlorantraniliprole.

Chlorantraniliprole binds to a specific receptor in muscles called the ryanodine receptor. When chlorantraniliprole binds to this receptor, it causes muscle cells to leak calcium. The muscles stop working normally. The insect is paralyzed and dies. The ryanodine receptor is different in insects than in mammals. Chlorantraniliprole binds much more tightly to the receptor in insects.^5,6 It is toxic to insects mainly if it is eaten.⁷ Chlorantraniliprole is also toxic to insect eggs, larvae, and pupae on contact.^8,9

Chlorantraniliprole is based on the extract of Ryania speciosa, a plant that grows in South America and the Caribbean.⁶ Scientists realized in the 1940s that Ryania speciosa is toxic to insects.¹⁰ Ryania extract was used as a registered insecticide until 1996.² Ryania extract itself is no longer used because it is very toxic to mammals.^5,6

You could be exposed to chlorantraniliprole while using a product or being too close to an application. You could get chlorantraniliprole on your skin, in your eyes, or breathe it in. Granules may be mistaken for food crumbs by very young children or pets. Very low levels of chlorantraniliprole may be found in food and drinking water.^11,12 Pesticides used on food crops have tolerances. See the text box about pesticide tolerances.

Healthy skin blocks most chlorantraniliprole from entering the body. Less than 3% of a dose of chlorantraniliprole passed through skin in a study with rats. Chlorantraniliprole was found in many places in the body after a single dose was eaten by animals. It is not expected to build up in the body.¹¹

Rats given chlorantraniliprole absorbed most of it in 5-12 hours. They excreted nearly all of it in 48-72 hours, mostly in feces but also in urine. The half-life in blood plasma was 38-82 hours. Chlorantraniliprole is broken down in the body into a number of other chemicals. The type of chemicals may depend on the species of animal.¹¹ The U.S. EPA considers these breakdown chemicals to be less toxic than chlorantraniliprole.⁴

Scientists fed a goat 10 mg/kg chlorantraniliprole for a week. They also fed hens the same dose for two weeks. Less than 1% of the dose was recovered in the goat's milk, and less than 4% was recovered in eggs.^4,14

Chlorantraniliprole is classified as "not likely to be carcinogenic to humans" by the U.S. EPA.¹¹ Test animals did not develop more tumors than expected when they were exposed to chlorantraniliprole. Chlorantraniliprole does not cause gene mutations that damage DNA. It is not considered toxic to the immune system.^4,7

Chlorantraniliprole does not seem to cause birth defects. Scientists fed mother rats and rabbits up to 1,000 mg/kg per day during their pregnancies. They did not see any effects on the babies.^4,11 When scientists fed rats chlorantraniliprole for two generations, the rats' reproduction was not affected.⁴

Scientists gave rats, mice, and dogs chlorantraniliprole in their food for up to two years. They saw no evidence of harm at high doses within the range of 1,000-1,500 mg/kg/day. Scientists saw some changes in the rats' adrenal glands' cell structure but no change in how the glands worked. The rats, mice, and dogs had some small increases in liver weight.⁴

No information was found regarding endocrine disruption by chlorantraniliprole at the time this fact sheet was written. For more information about how NPIC finds scientific studies, see our page on Writing NPIC Fact Sheets.

Other scientists force fed rats a commercial pesticide product with chlorantraniliprole and other ingredients every day for 28 days. The rats received a very high dose of 3,750 mg/kg of chlorantraniliprole. Rats in this group gained less weight than rats in the other groups. When the scientists force fed rats the same pesticide product every other day for 90 days at the lower doses of 375 or 187.5 mg/kg, the rats gained less weight than rats which got less or none of the pesticide product. Rats who received smaller amounts gained the same weight as control rats in both groups.¹⁵

Children are not expected to be more sensitive to chlorantraniliprole than adults.⁴ However, children may act in ways that put them at greater risk of being exposed. For example, they may spend more time on the ground. They may also be more likely to place their hands in their mouths after touching treated areas.

Chlorantraniliprole is practically non-toxic to birds when the birds are exposed for short periods of time. Bobwhite quail and mallards were fed high doses of chlorantraniliprole for longer periods of time. When bobwhite quail ate 20.7 mg/kg of chlorantraniliprole per day, the shells of their eggs were 9% thinner. When mallard ducks ate 133 mg/kg of chlorantraniliprole per day, their eggs had fewer live embryos after 3 weeks of incubation. According to the U.S. EPA, there is "no evidence of chlorantraniliprole toxicity" to mammals.¹⁶

Some researchers found that products with chlorantraniliprole should not harm beneficial predatory insects or bees when used according to the label.^8,22,23,24 Chlorantraniliprole is low in toxicity to parasitic wasps.⁸

Other scientists have studied the effects of chlorantraniliprole on bees. They found that when honeybee larvae were fed doses of products containing chlorantraniliprole at low doses of 0.087-0.139 μg/chlorantraniliprole per larva per day, many of them died before becoming adult bees.¹⁶ Another group of scientists exposed bumblebees to chlorantraniliprole in a pollen and honey mixture. The mixture contained 0.615 mg/kg of chlorantraniliprole. The bumblebees ate the mixture for 30 days. They ate the same amount of pollen as control colonies that were not fed chlorantraniliprole. Colonies with queens showed no effects on reproduction or behavior.²⁵ However, the U.S. EPA has concluded that bumblebees may be more sensitive than honeybees to pesticide products with chlorantraniliprole.¹⁶

As expected, chlorantraniliprole is toxic to butterflies and moths.³ Monarch butterfly eggs were killed by chlorantraniliprole at very low doses of 0.018 μg/g per egg. Chlorantraniliprole was also toxic to the monarch caterpillars when they ate leaves with residues of even lower doses. When researchers treated pupae with 0.04 μg/g of chlorantraniliprole, the butterflies did not emerge.⁹

Chlorantraniliprole is not very toxic to most soil invertebrates including earthworms.⁷ Scientists exposed earthworms to chlorantraniliprole at several low concentrations in the soil for 42 days. The concentrations of chlorantraniliprole were 0.1, 1.0, 5.0, and 10.0 mg/kg in soil. The residue built up in the earthworms' bodies. The earthworms lost weight and had fewer young at the two highest doses.²⁶ Chlorantraniliprole at high doses of 1,000 mg/kg did not affect soil isopods. One species of oribatid soil mite and a small white worm called an enchytraeid also showed no effects. The amount of organic matter in soil helped reduce the effects of chlorantraniliprole on springtails. However, very low amounts of 0.14 mg of chlorantraniliprole per kg of dried soil affected their reproduction. Scientists expect these levels to happen in the field under current use.²⁷

Short, one-time exposures to chlorantraniliprole are low in toxicity to fish. However, fish were more sensitive when exposed over longer periods of time.^4,16 According to the U.S. EPA, risks of direct effects to amphibians are "below Agency screening levels of concern."⁴ No direct or indirect impacts to amphibians or reptiles are expected.⁷

Chlorantraniliprole is considered highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates.⁴ Chlorantraniliprole was highly toxic to crayfish when it was in the water, but not as residue on rice the crayfish ate. Scientists applied a seed treatment to the rice according to the label.²⁸ Other aquatic animals that are very sensitive to chlorantraniliprole include water fleas (Daphnia)^29,30 and freshwater midges called chironomids.³¹ Chlorantraniliprole affected how fast midge larvae grew into adults when tested at levels found in the environment.³²