Laboratory-based toxicological assessments of new insecticides on mortality and fecundity of Neoseiulus fallacis (Acari: Phytoseiidae).

Neoseiulus fallacis (Garman) is one of the most abundant predatory phytoseid in deciduous fruit orchards under an integrated pest management (IPM) regimen in eastern North America. Laboratory studies using N. fallacis, and the 'modified excised leaf disc method' identified four insecticides out of six, that would require second-tier field studies before inclusion in an IPM program for deciduous orchards.

A laboratory assessment of the toxic attributes of six 'reduced risk insecticides' on Galendromus occidentalis (Acari: Phytoseiidae).

The modified excised leaf disc method was used to measure the effects of six insecticides on eggs, larvae, adults, and female fecundity of Galendromus occidentalis (Nesbitt) in a 'worst case laboratory exposure'. This study identified insecticides that would be recommended for tier II field evaluations for an integrated pest management program. Commercially formulated insecticides were applied with a thin-layer chromatography sprayer adjusted to 10.

Effect of the width of the herbicide strip on mite dynamics in apple orchards.

Herbicide strips are used in apple orchards to promote tree growth and survival, to increase yield and to reduce the risk of rodent damage to tree bark. However, herbicide strips, particularly wider ones, may cause problems including soil erosion, reduced organic matter, leaching of nitrates into ground water and increased incidence of plant diseases and pests, including two-spotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae Koch. In this 2 year study we monitored mite dynamics in apple trees and used sticky bands on tree trunks to determine rates of T.

Effects of six selected orchard insecticides on Neoseiulus fallacis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in the laboratory.

Background: Neoseiulus fallacis (Garman) is a key predator of tetranychid mites in integrated pest management (IPM) programs across Canada. This study identified compounds that would be recommended for tier-II field evaluations in an IPM program.

Results: The overall egg mortality caused by the six insecticides was negligible as it extended from 0 to 12.

A modified excised leaf disc method to estimate the toxicity of slow- and fast-acting reduced-risk acaricides to mites.

The "modified excised leaf disc method" is based on leaf discs that fit tightly the bottom halves of 50-mm petri dishes. The bottom half of each petri dish is covered with wet cotton wool to prolong leaf freshness. The side wall of each bottom half has a small hole to allow the petiole of the leaf disc to protrude outside the petri dish.

Effect of seven new orchard pesticides on Galendromus occidentalis in laboratory studies.

Background: Biological control of phytophagous mites in orchards requires that pesticides used to manage other arthropod pests or diseases are harmless to predacious mites, as these are essential to keep phytophagous mites at non-injurious population levels. This study evaluates the possible toxic attributes of acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, spirodiclofen, spinosad and methoxyfenoxide currently used in western Canadian orchards.

Results: None of these pesticides has any ovicidal properties against Galendromus occidentalis (Nesbitt).

Toxicity of six novel fungicides and sulphur to Galendromus occidentalis (Acari: Phytoseiidae).

A laboratory evaluation of fenbuconazole, myclobutanil propiconazole, boscalid, fenhexamid and pyraclostrobin revealed these fungicides to be harmless to adult Galendromus occidentalis. None of these fungicides affected adversely fecundity and egg viability. Elemental sulphur also had no effect on adults and fecundity.

Particle films for managing arthropod pests of apple.

A two-season study showed that a calendar-based spray program to manage arthropod pests with kaolin (60 g/liter) applied at the rate of 450 liters/ha was effective against European apple sawfly, Hoplocampa testudinea (Klug) (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae); white apple leafhopper, Typhlocyba pomaria McAtee (Homoptera: Cicadellidae); apple red bug, Lygidea mendax Reuter (Heteroptera: Miridae); pear plant bug, Lygocoris communis (Knight) (Heteroptera: Miridae); and the apple rust mite, Aculus schlechtendali (Nalepa) (Acari: Eriophyidae). Although it reduced Curculionidae damage, the level of damage was still too high. It had no effect on apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) (Diptera: Tephritidae); codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.

Effects of acaricides, pyrethroids and predator distributions on populations of Tetranychus urticae in apple orchards.

We sampled mites in three apple orchards in Nova Scotia, Canada, that had been inoculated with pyrethroid-resistant Typhlodromus pyri and had a history of Tetranychus urticae outbreaks. The objective of this study was to monitor populations of T. urticae and phytoseiid predators on the ground and in trees and to track dispersal between the two habitats.

Laboratory studies to elucidate the residual toxicity of eight insecticides to Anystis baccarum (Acari: Anystidae).

Anystis baccarum (L.) [=Anystis agilis (Banks)] (Acari: Anystidae) is a common predatory mite recently identified in apple (Malus spp.) orchards and in vineyards (Vitus spp.

The relationship between winter egg counts of the European red mite Panonychus ulmi (Acari: Tetranychidae) and its summer abundance in a reduced spray orchard.

We studied the relationship between counts of Panonychus ulmi (Koch) winter eggs per bud and mite-days per leaf accumulated in early to mid-summer on 92-96 apple trees in an orchard in Quebec, Canada. Stepwise regression was used to compute mite-days in the 4 year (1992-1995) data set using winter egg density, cumulative rainfall (R), cumulative degree-days (D), squared values of R and of D, and the product RD as potential predictors. Degree-days were accumulated above 10.

Residual toxicity of two insecticides on three field populations of Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae) collected along the St Lawrence valley in eastern Canada.

Insecticides are still the single main pest control method employed today by most growers to mitigate damage done by the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Hemiptera: Miridae). In eastern Canada, the complex agricultural ecosystem, which may be described as a mosaic of farmlands dispersed among natural habitats (forest, prairies), allows tarnished plant bug adults to fly and move from sprayed to non-sprayed areas. In 2004 (late August to early September), three populations of L.

The effect of indoxacarb and five other insecticides on Phytoseiulus persimilis (Acari: Phytoseiidae), Amblyseius fallacis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and nymphs of Orius insidiosus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae).

A laboratory study assessed the contact toxicity of indoxacarb, abamectin, endosulfan, insecticidal soap, S-kinoprene and dimethoate to Amblyseius fallacis (Garman), Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot and nymphs of Orius insidiosus (Say). Amblyseius fallacis is a predacious phytoseiid mite and an integral part of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes in North American apple orchards. The other two beneficials are widely used in greenhouses to manage various arthropod pests infesting vegetable and ornamental crops.

The intrinsic toxicity of several neonicotinoids to Lygus lineolaris and Hyaliodes vitripennis, a phytophagous and a predacious mirid.

The tarnished plant bug Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) is a key pest of apples in eastern Canada and, currently, chemical control is the only way to manage this pest. Hyaliodes vitripennis (Say) is a univoltine indigenous predacious mirid and an integral part of biological control programs for apples in certain regions of Quebec. In worst-case laboratory conditions, thiamethoxam, thiacloprid and acetamiprid were exceptionally toxic to this predacious mirid.

Effects of a Chenopodium-based botanical insecticide/acaricide on Orius insidiosus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and Aphidius colemani (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

UDA-245 is a Chenopodium-based natural insecticide. Forty-eight hours after treatment with this compound, Orius insidiosus (Say) and Aphidius colemani Viereck showed slight contact toxicity at 5 g AI liter(-1). There was no residual toxicity to A colemani.

Impact of intraguild predation and lambda-cyhalothrin on predation efficacy of three acarophagous predators.

This laboratory study reports the interaction of three predators found in commercial apple orchards in Quebec, Hyaliodes vitripennis (Say) (Hemiptera: Miridae), Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Amblyseius fallacis (Garman) (Acarina: Phytoseiidae). First, intraguild predation between H vitripennis and the two other predators was characterized in the absence and presence of their extraguild prey, Tetranychus urticae Koch. The results showed an asymmetrical interaction in favour of the larger predator and the levels of intraguild predation were weak for the two predatory combinations.

The contact toxicity of indoxacarb and five other insecticides to Orius insidiosus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and Aphidius colemani (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), beneficials used in the greenhouse industry.

The contact toxicity of indoxacarb, abamectin, endosulfan, insecticide soap, S-kinoprene and dimethoate to Orius insidiosus (Say) and Aphidius colemani Viereck were studied in the laboratory. These beneficials are often used in the greenhouses to manage various insect pests. Indoxacarb is slow acting and therefore, to estimate lethal dosages, observations should be continued for several days until data stabilize.

Insecticidal properties of a Chenopodium-based botanical.

The emulsifiable concentrate UDA-245 based on an essential oil extract from Chenopodium ambrosioides variety near ambrosioides, a North American herbaceous plant, was compared with commercially available pesticides for their effectiveness to control green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Homoptera: Aphididae), western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), and greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorium (Westwood) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). Side effects on the whitefly parasitoid Encarsia formosa Gahan (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) also were determined. With green peach aphid, UDA-245 at 0.

Acaricidal properties of a Chenopodium-based botanical.

The emulsifiable concentrate UDA-245 [25% EC (vol:vol)], based on an essential oil extract from Chenopodium ambrosioides variety ambrosioides, a North American herbaceous plant, was compared with commercially available pesticides for their effectiveness to control the adult stage and egg hatch of the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) and the European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch) (Acari: Tetranychidae). After a laboratory bioassay with adult twospotted spider mites, a 0.5% concentration of UDA-245 was more effective than 0.

Toxicity of indoxacarb to two species of predacious mites and a predacious mirid.

Indoxacarb is a novel oxadiazine pro-insecticide that has no toxic effects on the adults, fecundity and eclosion of Amblyseius fallacis (Garman), a predacious phytoseiid, or Agistemus fleschneri Summers, a predacious stigmaeid. It is toxic to Hyaliodes vitripennis (Say), a predacious mirid that has been reported from several Quebec orchards where IPM programs are used. The LC50 for this mirid is about one-half of the recommended dose (0.

An index for selective toxicity of miticides to phytophagous mites and their predators based on orchard trials.

Data from nine trials conducted from 1990 to 1998 in apple orchards in Nova Scotia and Quebec, Canada, were used to estimate the predator-prey selectivity of miticides and their potential compatibility with biological control of mites. The European red mite Panonychus ulmi (Koch) was the dominant and more harmful phytophagous species, followed by the apple rust mite, Aculus schlechtendali (Nalepa). Two predacious mites, the phytoseiid, Typhlodromus pyri Sheuten, and the stigmaeid, Zetzellia mali (Ewing), were often found in the orchards.

The arthropod fauna of Quebec vineyards with particular reference to phytophagous arthropods.

A 3-yr study using different sampling and trapping techniques showed that the arthropod pest fauna in two commercial vineyards in southwestern Quebec was qualitatively and quantitatively different than that of Ontario, Canada, and New York state. We hypothesize that a colder winter climate in addition to the agronomic activity of earthing up around the vines in autumn to protect the roots from freezing in winter contributed to low numbers of pests, such as the grape berry moth, Endopiza viteana Clemens (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae). Once in 3 yr, the density of this pest approached, in one of the vineyards, the action threshold recommended for New York.

Baseline toxicity of several pesticides to Hyaliodes vitripennis (Say) (Hemiptera: Miridae).

Hyaliodes vitripennis (Say) is a univoltine indigenous predacious mirid. It has been reported in several orchards where IPM programmes are used. It is a generalist, and feeds on phytophagous mites in addition to other arthropods.

Acaricidal properties of Artemisia absinthium and Tanacetum vulgare (Asteraceae) essential oils obtained by three methods of extraction.

Essential oils of Artemisia absinthium L. and Tanacetum vulgare L. were extracted by three methods, a microwave assisted process (MAP), distillation in water (DW) and direct steam distillation (DSD), and tested for their relative toxicity as contact acaricides to the two spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch.

Effects of five insecticides used in apple orchards on Hyaliodes vitripennis (Say) (Hemiptera: Miridae).

Azinphos-methyl, carbaryl, dimethoate, phosmet and phosalone were used in apple orchards to manage apple aphid, apple maggot, woolly apple aphid and leaf eating caterpillars. Among the five insecticides evaluated, dimethoate, carbaryl and azinphosmethyl were the most toxic to the nymphs and adults of Hyaliodes vitripennis (Say) from two regions. Phosalone was the least toxic.