Since 1995, growers in the eastern and mid-western U.S. and Canada have relied almost exclusively on imidacloprid for control of Colorado potato beetle. In spite of 8 years of intensive use, resistance to imidacloprid has only appeared on Long Island NY and in a few other locations in the east. Resistance development may be slowed because inheritance of imidacloprid resistance in the Colorado potato beetle appears to be primarily recessive in nature and larvae are much more sensitive than adults. Operational factors also appear to play a role; imidicloprid is generally used only at planting, new non-neonicotinoid insecticides are now available for control of summer adults, and crop rotation is more common now than in the 1980s and early 1990s. Understanding the factors that appear to mitigate resistance to imidacloprid in Colorado potato beetle will help us manage resistance to new insecticides and retain effective control of the Colorado potato beetle.
Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Colorado potato beetle)
Keywords: insecticide resistance management
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