Resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides in field populations of the Colorado potato beetle

Neonicotinoid insecticides were first used commercially for Colorado potato beetle control in the United States in 1995. Field populations from the northeastern and midwestern United States were tested from 1998 to 2010 for susceptibility to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam using standard topical dose assays with adults. From 1998 to 2001, imidacloprid resistance was present in only a few locations in the eastern United States. By 2003, imidacloprid resistance was common in the northeastern Unites States. In 2004, imidacloprid resistance in Colorado potato beetle was detected for the first time in the midwestern United States. In 2003, the first case of resistance to thiamethoxam was found in a population from Massachusetts. Neonicotinoid resistance in summer-generation adults was higher than in overwintered adults from the same locations. By 2009, 95% of the populations tested from the northeastern and midwestern United States had significantly higher LD50 values for imidacloprid than the susceptible population.

Source:
Zsofia Szendrei et al. (2011) Pest Manag Sci. DOI 10.1002/ps.3258 (attached)