The possibility of selecting pesticide-resistant strains of natural enemies

Our goal is to establish integrated pest management immediately in agriculture.  So considerable research interest has  focused on the use of natural enemies. However, pest control that uses only natural enemies is not always completely effective, and there we sometimes have to use pesticides. Accordingly, we are currently examining the possibility of selecting pesticide-resistant strains of natural enemies. The predacious flower bug Orius strigicollis (Poppoius) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) is one of the most useful biological control agents of various minute insect pests, such as thrips, and is common in agricultural fields in Japan. The species is also commercially available in Japan as a biological control agent for greenhouses.  However, farmers want to use pesticides against pests that are not preyed upon by O. strigicollis. Therefore, recently we are developing a potential evaluation method for O. strigicollis that combined the selection of pesticides and genetic diagnosis of pesticide-resistant individuals. We also examined effective of the selection of resistant strains of O. strigicollis on pests. In this meeting, we show some of our research results, and discuss the possibility of selecting pesticide-resistant strains.