Laboratory test method to evaluate the effect of 31 pesticides on the predatory bug,Orius laevigatus (Het: Anthocoridae)

A laboratory test method was developed to evaluate the pesticide toxicity on the predatory bugOrius laevigatus (Fieber). Newly hatched first-instar nymphs ofO. laevigatus were exposed to spray deposits of pesticides that were sprayed on the glass plates of a drum cell at the manufacturer’s recommended maximum dosage. Nymphal mortality and oviposition of surviving adults were recorded. Test results of various (31) commonly used pesticides (insecticides, insecticides/acaricides, acaricides and fungicides) are presented and discussed in accord with the classification of the IOBC/WPRS Working Group ”Pesticides and Beneficial Organisms”. Most fungicides had no toxic effect on nymphal development and egg-laying of surviving adults. The acaricides tested had variable toxicity on the predatory bug, while some insect growth regulators, such as the benzoylphenyl urea were very toxic. Otherwise, the ecdysone agonist tebufenozide and azadirachtin were not harmful for nymphal development and oviposition