Insecticide resistance, the uninvited driver for change: impacts on insecticide discovery

The advent of integrated insect pest management and the later concepts around insecticide resistance management (IRM) were in response to the ecological impacts of insecticides and the field failures of the 1960s and the early 1970s to the then available insecticides due to resistance. Insecticide resistance has gone from a curiosity during the 1940s to 1950s to an important consideration and potential driver for the discovery and development of new insect control agents. Views concerning insecticide resistance can be seen as a series of eras: phenomenon, documentation, modeling, IRM conceptualization and then implementation. The need for insect control agents possessing efficacy against resistant pest insects along with the favorable environmental attributes to meet the increasingly stringent regulatory requirements have led to the continuing emphasis on the discovery and development of new pest insect control options, including new insecticides. As such, insecticide resistance can be seen as an important driver for the discovery of new insect control agents. The present review examines the evolution of interest in and then response to insecticide resistance (including IRM) and the subsequent impact on the development of new insect control agents. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.