Corn has been genetically modified to express a variant of the Cry 3Bb1 protein derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that protects against corn rootworm (CRW), Diabrotica spp. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) larval feeding. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the ecological impact of a transgenic corn test event and control line on the relative abundance of non-target organisms when grown in the field under different insecticide regimes. Pitfall traps and sticky traps were utilized to sample arthropod populations from surface-dwelling and foliage-dwelling foraging guilds. No significant differences were observed between the two hybrids for the most prominent families of arthropods collected by the pitfall traps. Lower numbers of spiders were observed in the foliar-treated plots. No significant differences were observed between the two hybrids for key beneficial insects collected by the sticky traps. Differences were observed among the different insecticide treatments for these beneficial insects. Preliminary results suggest that the transgenic corn test event did not negatively impact the abundance of several prominent non-target beneficial arthropods relative to the non-transgenic hybrid.
Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Diabrotica spp (corn rootworm)
Keywords: Bacillus thuringiensis, Non-target organisms
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