Multiple factors mediate insecticide toxicity to a key predator for cotton insect pest management.

Mortality of agricultural pests caused by arthropod predators is a valuable ecosystem service for crop production. The earwig, Euborellia annulipes (Lucas), attacks different pest species in various crop ecosystems, including larvae and pupae of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis (Boh.).

Selective insecticides secure natural enemies action in cotton pest management.

Cotton hosts a variety of arthropod pests requiring intensive control mostly with insecticides, which in turn may impact beneficial insects and the environment. Therefore, insect control in cotton fields preconizes the use of selective insecticides that offer pest control but conserve natural enemies. In this work, we measured the impact of recommended insecticides on the abundance of predatory insects and predation upon sentinel preys in the field.