Plant essential oils are regarded as interesting alternative tools to be integrated into the management of pest insects. However, as they generally consist of mixtures of numerous molecules, the physiological basis for their action is unresolved. Here, we evaluated the effects of essential oil of the Neotropical plant Siparuna guianensis Aubl., commonly known as Negramina, against an important pest insect: the green peach aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer), and also in two non-target natural enemies: the ladybeetle predators Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer) and Eriopis connexa (Germar). In addition, we conducted a computational docking analysis for predicting the physical interactions between the two Negramina essential oil major constituents: β-myrcene and 2-undocanone, and the transient receptor potential (TRP) channels as potential binding receptors in the aphid and ladybeetles. As the most important results, Negramina essential oil caused mortality in M. persicae aphids with an LC95 = 1.08 mg/cm2, and also significantly repelled the aphids at concentrations as low as 0.14 mg/cm2. Our computational docking analysis reinforced such selectivity actions as the Negramina essential oil major compounds (i.e., β-myrcene and 2-undocanone) bound to the TRP channels of M. persicae but not to ladybeetle-related TRP channels. Interestingly, the exposure to the Negramina essential oil did not affect the predatory abilities of C. maculata but increased the abilities of E. connexa to prey upon M. persicae. Collectively, our findings provided a physiological basis for the insecticidal and selectivity potential of Negramina essential oil, reinforcing its potential as a tool to be used in integrated pest control programs.

In addition to their active ingredients, pesticides contain also additives – surfactants. Use of surfactants has been increasing over the past decade, but their effects on non-target organisms, especially natural enemies of pests, have been studied only very rarely. The effect of three common agrochemical surfactants on the foraging behavior of the wolf spider Pardosa agrestis was studied in the laboratory. Differences in short-term, long-term, and overall cumulative predatory activities were investigated. We found that surfactant treatment significantly affected short-term predatory activity but had no effect on long-term predatory activity. The surfactants also significantly influenced the cumulative number of killed prey. We also found the sex-specific increase in cumulative kills after surfactants treatment. This is the first study showing that pesticide additives have a sublethal effect that can weaken the predatory activity of a potential biological control agent. More studies on the effects of surfactants are needed to understand how they affect beneficial organisms in agroecosystems.

This study investigated whether lead (Pb), at concentrations allowed for soil, affects the community of insects that live in the aerial part of plants. We evaluated the effect of Pb concentrations on accumulated species richness, composition, and abundance of different functional groups of insects. Kale plants were grown in soil experimentally contaminated with four concentrations of lead nitrate: 0 (control), 144 (T1), 360 (T2), and 600 (T3) mg/kg of soil. The experiment was conducted in an open greenhouse for the natural colonization of insects. Insects were collected twice using trap bags attached to the plant leaf and by direct removal. The concentration of Pb in the stem and leaf samples increased with the increased soil contamination, even showing values above the limit allowed by the legislation for this plant species. Control plants showed a higher richness of accumulated insect species. In addition, the treatments had an effect on the community composition, in which Diaeretiella rapae (primary parasitoid) was found as an indicator of the control + T1 treatments and the top species Pachyneuron sp. (parasitoid of predators) was associated with the control. The abundance of chewing and sucking herbivores, their respective parasitoids, predators, and parasitoids of predators were negatively affected. Hyperparasitoid abundance was not affected, but their accumulated species richness was. This study was innovative in demonstrating that soil contamination by different concentrations of a heavy metal (Pb) can negatively affect the community of plant-associated insects, even at concentrations allowed for soil, reflecting possible damage to the ecosystem.

Compatibility assessments between selective insecticides and the natural enemies of pests are essential for integrated-pest-management programs. Chrysoperla externa and Eriopis connexa are two principal Neotropical predators of agricultural pests whose conservation in agroecosystems requires a toxicity evaluation of pesticides to minimize the impact on those beneficial insects on the environment. The objective of this work was to evaluate the toxicity of the insecticides pyriproxyfen and acetamiprid on C. externa and E. connexa eggs exposed to the maximum recommended field concentrations of each along with three successive dilutions. The survival and the immature developmental time were assessed daily until adulthood and the mean survival time calculated over a 10-day period. The cumulative survival of E. connexa was reduced at all concentrations of both insecticides, while that of C. externa was significantly decreased by ≥50 mg L⁻¹ of acetamiprid and ≥37.6 mg L⁻¹ of pyriproxyfen. In both species, the reductions occurred principally on the eggs and first larval instar. Survival curves, in general, differed from those of the controls, with the mean survival time of E. connexa being significantly shorter in insecticides treatments than that of the controls. Certain concentrations of each of the insecticide lengthened the egg and first-larval-instar developmental periods of E. connexa and C. externa, respectively. Also, pyriproxyfen reduced the first-larval-instar period and lengthened the fourth of E. connexa. Acetamiprid was more toxic to E. connexa than to C. externa at the two highest concentrations. Conversely, at those same concentrations of pyriproxyfen, the relative toxicity to the two species was reversed. The present work represents the first investigation on the comparative susceptibility of two relevant Neotropical biological control agents to acetamiprid and pyriproxyfen. Also, it highlights the necessity of assessing long-term effects in the compatibility studies between natural enemies of agricultural pests and insecticides.

We investigated how the adaptation to metalliferous environments can influence the plant response to biotic stress. In a metallicolous and a non-metallicolous population of Silene paradoxa the induction of oxidative stress and the production of callose and volatiles were evaluated in the presence of copper and of the PAMP fungal protein cerato-platanin, separately and in combination. Our results showed incompatibility between the ordinary ROS-mediated response to fungal attack and the acquired mechanisms of preventing oxidative stress in the tolerant population. A similar situation was also demonstrated by the sensitive population growing in the presence of copper but, in this case, with a lack of certain responses, such as callose production. In addition, in terms of the joint behaviour of emitted volatiles, multivariate statistics showed that not only did the populations respond differently to the presence of copper or biotic stress, but also that the biotic and abiotic stresses interacted in different ways in the two populations.Our results demonstrated that the same incompatibility of hyperaccumulators in ROS-mediated biotic stress signals also seemed to be exhibited by the excluder metallophyte, but without the advantage of being able to rely on the elemental defence for plant protection from natural enemies.

Uptake of Cry toxins by insect natural enemies has rarely been considered and bioaccumulation has not yet been demonstrated. Uptake can be demonstrated by the continued presence of Cry toxin after exposure has stopped and gut contents eliminated. Bioaccumulation can be demonstrated by showing uptake and that the concentration of Cry toxin in the natural enemy exceeds that in its food. We exposed larvae of the aphidophagous predator, Harmonia axyridis, to Cry1Ac and Cry1F through uniform and constant tritrophic exposure via an aphid, Myzus persicae, and looked for toxin presence in the pupae. We repeated the experiment using only Cry1F and tested newly emerged adults. Both Cry toxins were detected in pupae, and Cry1F was detected in recently emerged, unfed adults. Cry1Ac was present 2.05 times and Cry1F 3.09 times higher in predator pupae than in the aphid prey. Uptake and bioaccumulation in the third trophic level might increase the persistence of Cry toxins in the food web and mediate new exposure routes to natural enemies.

Forestry pest management includes biological and chemical methods of pest control. Using insecticides and natural enemies can be compatible in forest pest management programs. The compatibility of the predatory stink bug Podisus distinctus with the insecticide indoxacarb, used in forestry, needs to be evaluated in Brazil. This study investigated the mortality, survival, respiration, preference, prey consumption, and locomotor activity of P. distinctus adults exposed to indoxacarb. In concentration-mortality bioassays, the lethality of indoxacarb (LC₅₀ = 2.62 g L⁻¹ and LC₉₀ = 6.11 g L⁻¹) was confirmed in P. distinctus adults. The survival rate was 100% in predator insects not exposed to indoxacarb, declining to 40.7% in predator insects exposed to 2.62 g L⁻¹ and 0.1% in predators treated with 6.11 g L⁻¹. Indoxacarb reduced the respiration of P. distinctus from 18.45 to 14.41 µL CO₂ h⁻¹ at 2.62 g L⁻¹ for up to 3 h after insecticide exposure, inhibiting food consumption and displaying hyperexcitation. The harmful effects of indoxacarb to the natural enemy suggest that it should be better assessed for use with P. distinctus for pest management in forestry.

The control of defoliating caterpillars in forestry includes the use of insecticides and releases of the predatory bug Podisus nigrispinus, but some compounds may affect non-target natural enemies, which need evaluation of risk assessment. This research investigates the survival, preference, and prey consumption of P. nigrispinus adults fed with prey treated with the lethal concentration (LC₅₀) of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), permethrin, tebufenozide, and thiamethoxam. Moreover, midgut histopathology of P. nigrispinus fed with preys treated with LC₅₀ of each insecticide was investigated. The insecticides Bt, permethrin, and thiamethoxam reduce the survival and the prey consumption in P. nigrispinus fed with preys contaminate with these chemicals. However, the four tested insecticides, including tebufenozide, cause histological changes such as irregular epithelial architecture, cytoplasm vacuolization, and release of cell fragments in the midgut lumen of P. nigrispinus. The sublethal effects of Bt, permethrin, tebufenozide, and thiamethoxam to the natural enemy suggest that they should be better evaluated to be used together with P. nigrispinus for integrated pest management in forestry.