Journal of Economic Entomology (2011) 104, 629-635

Trevor A. Lambkin and Michael J. Furlong (2011)
Metabolic mechanisms only partially explain resistance to pyrethroids in Australian broiler house populations of lesser mealworm (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)
Journal of Economic Entomology 104 (2), 629-635
Abstract: The susceptibility of six Australian broiler house populations and an insecticide susceptible population of lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), to cyfluthrin, β-cyfluthrin, γ-cyhalothrin, and deltamethrin was investigated. One broiler house population had equivalent susceptibility to the susceptible to β-cyfluthrin and γ-cyhalothrin, with higher susceptibility to cyfluthrin and deltamethrin. The remaining five populations demonstrated strong resistance to cyfluthrin (19-37-fold), the insecticide used most widely for management of A. diaperinus in Australia. Each cyfluthrin-resistant population demonstrated reduced susceptibility to β-cyfluthrin (resistance ratios were 8-17-fold), deltamethrin (2.5-8-fold), and γ-cyhalothrin (6-12-fold) compared with the laboratory population, but cross-resistance patterns varied considerably between populations. Adding piperonyl butoxide (PBO) had no effect on the susceptibility of the susceptible population to any of the insecticides, but it increased the susceptibility of each of the five cyfluthrin-resistant populations: to cyfluthrin (synergism ratio range, 1.9-5.0-fold), β-cyfluthrin (1.6- 4.1-fold), and γ-cyhalothrin (1.7-2.0-fold). PBO had a more variable effect on susceptibility to deltamethrin, with three of the cyfluthrin-resistant populations being more susceptible to deltamethrin in the presence of PBO, but susceptibility of the remaining two populations was unaffected by adding PBO (synergism ratio range, 0.9-2.5-fold). Overall, the addition of PBO to the four pyrethroids had variable effects on their susceptibility. This variability indicated the presence of other resistance mechanisms in beetle populations apart from metabolic resistance. In addition, the relative importance of metabolic resistance in each beetle population varied widely between pyrethroids. Thus, it cannot be assumed that PBO will reliably synergize pyrethroids against cyfluthrin-resistant lesser mealworm populations when using it to mitigate insecticide resistance.
(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): Trevor A. Lambkin, Michael J. Furlong

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
pesticide resistance of pest

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Alphitobius diaperinus