Effect of new cotton insecticide chemistries, tebufenozide, spinosad and chlorfenapyr, on Orius insidious and two Cotesia species

Three new insecticide chemistries recommended for cotton, tebufenozide (Con firm(TM)), spinosad (Tracer(TM)) and chlorfenapyr (Pirate(TM)), were evalua ted for their effects on survival of two key beneficial insects, the predac eous insidious flower bug, Orius insidiosus (Say)(Heteroptera: Anthocoridae ), and the parasitic wasp of many lepidopteran pest larvae, Cotesia margini ventris (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). The closely related species Co tesia plutella (Kurdjumov) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was also evaluated. Th e mortalities of insects exposed for 24 or 48 h, respectively, to fresh dri ed foliar residues of these insecticides were compared in the laboratory. M ortality of O. insidiosus on Confirm(TM) and Tracer(TM) treated leaves was low, less than or equal to 18%, and similar to that of the control. Karate( TM) was the most toxic, killing > 87% of adult O. insidiosus after 24h. Pir ate(TM) was intermediate in toxicity, killing 21-55% of O. insidiosus. Resi dues of Confirm(TM) also were nontoxic to adult C. plutella. However, Trace r(TM) and Pirate(TM) residues were toxic to this parasitoid and to C. margi niventris. Pirate(TM) was more toxic than Tracer(TM) to these two parasitoi ds. Therefore, under the conditions of this study, Confirm(TM) and Tracer(T M) were less harmful than Pirate(TM) for all species tested. A simple toxic ity rating system for insecticide selectivity to beneficial insects is disc ussed.