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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Southern Insect Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #341694
Research Project: Alternative Approaches to Tarnished Plant Bug Control

Location: Southern Insect Management Research

Title: Longitudinal measurements of tarnished plant bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) susceptibility to insecticides in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi: Associations with insecticide use and insect control recommendations

Author
item Parys, Katherine
item Luttrell, Randall
item Snodgrass, Gordon
item Portilla, Maribel
item COPES, JOSH - LSU Agcenter

Submitted to: Insects
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2017
Publication Date: 10/13/2017
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/5852190
Citation: Parys, K.A., Luttrell, R.G., Snodgrass, G.L., Portilla, M., Copes, J. 2017. Longitudinal measurements of tarnished plant bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) susceptibility to insecticides in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi: Associations with insecticide use and insect control recommendations. Insects. 8(4),109. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects8040109.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects8040109

Interpretive Summary: Bioassays to monitor for insecticide resistance in tarnished plant bugs were done from 2018 through 2015. Field collections for these bioassays were made across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and insects were screened against acephate, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, permethrin and sulfoxaflor. A total of 229 field populations were examined for susceptibility to acephate, 145 for susceptibility to imidacloprid, and 208 for susceptibility to thiamethoxam. Resulting LC50 values were variable, and exploratory analyses to associate these values with insecticide use data indicate that some populations may have resistance to several classes of insecticides. Efforts should be made to manage plant bug populations more efficiently with less insecticide and by using alternative control methods.

Technical Abstract: Dose-response assays were conducted from 2008 through 2015 to measure the susceptibility of field populations of Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) from the Delta regions of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi to acephate, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, permethrin and sulfoxaflor. A total of 229 field populations were examined for susceptibility to acephate, 145 for susceptibility to imidacloprid, and 208 for susceptibility to thiamethoxam. Permethrin assays were conducted in 2014 and 2015 to measure levels of pyrethroid resistance in 44 field populations, and sulfoxaflor assays were conducted against 24 field populations in 2015. Resistance to acephate and permethrin is as high or higher than that previously reported, although some populations, especially those exposed to permethrin, appear to be susceptible. Variable assay responses were measured for populations exposed to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. Average response metrics suggest that populations are generally susceptible to the neonicotinoids, but a few populations from cotton fields experiencing control problems exhibited elevated LC50s. Efforts to associate variability in LC50s with recorded used of insecticides and estimated cotton insect losses and control costs suggest that intensive use of insecticides over several decades may have elevated general detoxifying enzymes in L. lineolaris and some field populations may be exhibiting resistance to multiple classes of insecticide. These results suggest that efforts should be made to manage these pests more efficiently with reduced use of insecticides and alternative controls.