Use of laboratory assays to estimate pesticide effects on BC agents

Laboratory bioassays are valuable tools for investigating potential impacts of pesticides against target organisms. Properly designed bioassays can provide information on acute toxicity and allow us to determine sub-lethal effects that can be used to model generational effects on population growth. Standardizing the methodology enhances the usefulness of these assays through comparisons of results of various target populations across time and space. We present results of assays designed to measure potential negative impacts of several classes of pesticides against several natural enemy arthropods that are key components of stable orchard IPM systems. The acute and sublethal bioassays were carried out in glass arenas under constant laboratory conditions to simulate a worst-case scenario of each tested pesticide to disrupt the life cycle performance of the selected natural enemies.