Harlequin bug (HB), Murgantia histrionica (Hahn), is a pest of cole crops. Alternative control strategies were investigated for control of HB, including trap cropping and systemic neonicotinoid insecticide applications. Potential trap crops, mustard (Brassica juncea ‘Southern Giant Curled’), rapeseed (B. napus ‘Athena’), rapini (B. rapa) and arugula (Eruca sativa) were preferred over collard (B...

Soil-dwelling insects are severe pests in many agroecosystems. These pests have cryptic life cycles, making sampling difficult and damage hard to anticipate. The management of soil insects is therefore often based on preventative insecticides applied at planting or cultural practices. Wireworms, the subterranean larvae of click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae), have re-emerged as problematic pe...

The use patterns and role of insecticide seed treatments, with focus on neonicotinoid insecticides, were examined for canola/oilseed rape production in Canada and the EU. Since nearly all planted canola acres in Western Canada and, historically, a majority of planted oilseed acres in the EU, use seed treatments, it is worth examining whether broad use of insecticidal seed treatments (IST) is co...

In moths, which include many agricultural pest species, males are attracted by female-emitted sex pheromones. Although integrated pest management strategies are increasingly developed, most insect pest treatments rely on widespread use of neurotoxic chemicals, including neonicotinoid insecticides. Residual accumulation of low concentrations of these insecticides in the environment is known to b...

Many factors can negatively affect honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) health including the pervasive use of systemic neonicotinoid insecticides. Through direct consumption of contaminated nectar and pollen from treated plants, neonicotinoids can affect foraging, learning, and memory in worker bees. Less well studied are the potential effects of neonicotinoids on queen bees, which may be exposed indi...

The discovery of neonicotinoids as important novel insecticides represents a milestone in insecticide research over the past three decades. The neonicotinoids represent the fastest-growing class of insecticides. Imidacloprid is one of the major representatives of the new generation of neonicotinoid insecticides derived from nicotine isolated from the tobacco plant. Worldwide, it is considered t...

BACKGROUND Soil application of systemic neonicotinoid insecticides can provide opportunities for long-term control of insect pests in vineyards, with minimal risk of pesticide drift or worker exposure. This study compared the effectiveness of neonicotinoid insecticides applied via irrigation injection on key early-season and mid-season insect pests of vineyards in the eastern United States. R...