Studying the non-target effects of Bt corn pollen on the adult golden tortoise beetles (Charidotella sexpunctata bicolor)

The registration of transgenic corn with corn rootworm resistance offers a viable alternative to insecticides for managing the most economically important pests of corn. While the transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cry3Bb1 protein in corn is labeled as species-specific to the corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), other transgenic proteins such as N4640-Bt corn have been found to have non-target effects on related insect species. Pest plant species such as bindweed (Ipomoea sp.) utilize corn plants as support in the summer months and are specifically fed upon by the Golden tortoise beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata bicolor Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Using pollen from cry3Bb1 corn, corn treated with a traditional spray pesticide and untreated, untransformed corn we tested the potential for non-target effects on adult golden tortoise beetles. Previous studies from our lab indicate that there was no effect on the larvae, but the larvae are less likely to encounter and ingest the pollen than adults.