Abamectin is a mixture of avermectins which are derived from the soil bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis. It contains > 80% avermectin B1a and < 20% avermectin B1b. These two components, B1a and B1b have very similar biological and toxicological properties.
It's an effective insecticide and acaricide used to control a wide range insect and mite pests in agronomic, fruit, vegetable and ornamental crops, and it is used by homeowners for control of fire ants. Doses of 50 to 200 ug/kg of ivermectin, is widely used to treat humans in the WHO onchocerciasis (river blindness) program.