Sublethal Effects of Four Insecticides on the Seven-Spotted Lady Beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

To further develop integrated pest management (IPM) strategies against two sucking insect pests, Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Quaintanca) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and Toxoptera aurantii Boyer (Hemiptera: Aphididae), in Chinese tea plantations, it is important to evaluate the effects of insecticides on biological control agents, such as the seven-spot lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Therefore, we tested the toxicity and sublethal effects of spirotetramat, clothianidin, lambda-cyhalothrin, and bifenthrin on C. septempunctata. The side effects of the active ingredients of the insecticides were evaluated with residual contact tests on the larvae of C. septempunctata in the laboratory. Spirotetramat and clothianidin exhibited lower lethality to C. septempunctata as shown by the higher LC50 values and had higher selectivity for A. spiniferus and T. aurantii based on the selective toxicity ratios being superior to other tested insecticides. Spirotetramat also did not affect survival, longevity, fecundity, and egg hatching of C. septempunctata. Clothianidin and bifenthrin prolonged the duration of larval development stages of C. septempunctata obviously. Clothianidin at >2.5 mg/liter, lambda-cyhalothrin at >0.03 mg/liter, and bifenthrin at >0.125 mg/liter significantly reduced the survival and pupation rates of C. septempunctata larvae. Furthermore, spirotetramat at 3.125 mg/liter was harmless (IOBC class 1) to larvae of this coccinellid species. Based on the results, spirotetramat was innocuous to C. septempunctata larvae compared with clothianidin, lambda-cyhalothrin, and bifenthrin. Therefore, spirotetramat might be incorporated into IPM programs in combination with C. septempunctata for control of A. spiniferus and T. aurantii in the tea plantations.