The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is an important sap-sucking pest of many crops, including Chinese cabbage, Brassinca oleracea L. The neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam has been used as an effective insecticide to control M. persicae in cabbage fields. In this study, we assessed the effects of sublethal concentrations of thiamethoxam on demographic parameters of M. persicae. In leaf-dip bioassays, thiamethoxam showed a relatively high toxicity against M. persicae with an LC50 of 6.80 mg liter-1. The duration of the preadult stage was not significantly affected in the sublethal bioassay. Additionally, the longevity and adult preoviposition period were not significantly affected by sublethal thiamethoxam. However, sublethal thiamethoxam significantly increased fecundity (LC10) and prolonged the total preoviposition period (LC40). Consequently, the finite rate of increase (λ) and the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) of aphids exposed to the LC40 were significantly lower than those of control aphids, whereas the net reproductive rate (R0) was higher, and the generation time (T) and the population doubling time (DT) were longer in the treated group. Based on these results, hormesis was induced by sublethal thiamethoxam in M. persicae, with the population growth of M. persicae negatively affected at higher sublethal concentrations of thiamethoxam. Therefore, our study indicated that the possible effects of thiamethoxam on aphids require further study to develop optimized integrated pest management strategies.
Keywords: demographic parameter; integrated pest management; neonicotinoid; sublethal concentration; thiamethoxam.
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