Annual Review of Entomology (2007) 52, 81-106
Nicolas Desneux, Axel Decourtye and Jean-Marie Delpuech (2007)
The sublethal effects of pesticides on beneficial arthropods
Annual Review of Entomology 52, 81-106
Abstract: Traditionally, measurement of the acute toxicity of pesticides to beneficial arthropods has relied largely on the determination of an acute median lethal dose or concentration. However, the estimated lethal dose during acute toxicity tests may only be a partial measure of the deleterious effects. In addition to direct mortality induced by pesticides, their sublethal effects on arthropod physiology and behavior must be considered for a complete analysis of their impact. An increasing number of studies and methods related to the identification and characterization of these effects have been published in the past 15 years. Review of sublethal effects reported in published literature, taking into account recent data, has revealed new insights into the sublethal effects of pesticides including effects on learning performance, behavior, and neurophysiology. We characterize the different types of sublethal effects on beneficial arthropods, focusing mainly on honey bees and natural enemies, and we describe the methods used in these studies. Finally, we discuss the potential for developing experimental approaches that take into account these sublethal effects in integrated pest management and the possibility of integrating their evaluation in pesticide registration procedures.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Nicolas Desneux
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
resistance to pesticides
