Abstract
The use of synthetic insecticides may cause failures in the biological control of insect pests due to undesired side effects on natural enemies and the rapid evolution of insecticide resistance in agroecosystems. Residues of neurotoxic insecticides can interfere with the recognition of chemical cues used by natural enemies to find pests. We investigated the effects of sub-lethal concentrations of the pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin on the interaction between the aphid parasitoid wasp Aphidius colemani and the peach potato aphid Myzus persicae. We studied changes in host-searching and oviposition behavior through laboratory bioassays when susceptible and kdr-resistant aphids are offered to parasitoid females, evaluating the effect of applying insecticides on the interacting species. The patch residence time, exploration, oviposition, and grooming were significantly disturbed when the parasitoids were offered resistant aphids sprayed with sub-lethal doses, but not when the parasitoids were offered susceptible M. persicae exposed to sub-lethal doses. We discuss how the effects of insecticides on parasitism behavior may result in failures of biological control if natural enemy populations are not adequately managed, particularly for the management of insecticide-resistant pest populations. Efforts to introduce biological control in integrated pest management (IPM) programs are also discussed.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilBiological control is a significant component of integrated pest management (IPM)programs, but synthetic insecticides are still commonly used to control many pest populations [1]
We addressed the effects of sub-lethal doses of lambda-cyhalothrin on the patch time allocation and host-finding behaviors in the aphid parasitoid wasp A. colemani when mated females were faced with susceptible and kdr-resistant individuals of the peach potato aphid under laboratory conditions
An effect of the genotype was observed in the time spent walking out of the patch (χ2 = 7.49; df = 1; p = 0.01), mainly affected by the insecticide concentration (χ2 = 1435.96; df = 2; p < 0.001) compared with parasitoids faced with susceptible and kdr-resistant aphids exposed and unexposed to low LC20 = 0.52 mg/L of susceptible M. persicae (Figure 1A)
Summary
Biological control is a significant component of integrated pest management (IPM). Programs, but synthetic insecticides are still commonly used to control many pest populations [1]. This is the case with the peach potato aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), a cosmopolitan and highly polyphagous aphid responsible for significant economic losses in several crops [2]. The use of insecticides in M. persicae has favored a complex and rapid evolution of a broad array of resistance mechanisms to almost all kinds of insecticides through enhanced detoxifying enzymes, insensitivity mutations [3,4], cuticular thickening, and sequestration [5]. Individuals carrying resistant alleles show significantly lower overwintering survival, reduced iations
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