Enzymatic diagnosis of resistance to deltamethrin in diapausing larvae of the codling moth,Cydia pomonella (L.)

The resistance to deltamethrin was evaluated in diapausing larvae of 14 field populations of the codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.) From the main French orchard areas using biological assays. Resistance to deltamethrin was compared to mixed-function-oxidase (mfo) activity measured at the individual level through ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase (ECOD) activity using a fluorescence microplate reader. The larvae were collected in corrugated paper band traps in the autumn of 1995. Analysis was previously performed on two laboratory strains, one susceptible and one resistant to deltamethrin, in order to characterize the changes in resistance during diapause development. Resistance to deltamethrin as well as the ECOD activity were stable during the diapause, and ECOD activity was always significantly lower in the susceptible strain than in the resistant one. The ECOD activity was significantly correlated to the frequency of resistant moths in the field populations. This strongly suggested the involvement of the mfo system in the resistance to deltamethrin in these populations. The intra-strain variabilities in ECOD activity of both laboratory and field resistant insects indicated that other resistance mechanisms might also be involved. Further investigations on these mechanisms are needed in order to develop complete diagnostic methods and to define suitable control strategies against each resistant population. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 39:55–64, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.