Abamectin belongs to the natural product class of insecticides. This class consists of products either derived from natural sources or from microbial fermentation. Abamectin is a natural compound isolated from the fermentation broth of the soil micro-organism, Streptomyces avermitilis.

Abamectin was originally developed and introduced by Merck in 1985. Since its introduction the compound has become a leading acaricide/insecticide used in the control of tough-to-control pests on a number of crops world-wide.

Two high quality EC formulations have been developed.