Data from: Impact of sublethal exposure to a pyrethroid-neonicotinoid insecticide on mating, fecundity and development in the bed bug Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

Sublethal exposure to an insecticide may alter insect feeding, mating, oviposition, fecundity, development, and many other life history parameters. Such effects may have population-level consequences that are not apparent in traditional dose-mortality evaluations. Earlier, we found that a routinely used combination insecticide that includes a pyrethroid and a neonicotinoid (Temprid® SC) had deleterious effects on multiple bed bug (Cimex lectularius, L.) behaviors. Here, we demonstrate that sublethal exposure impacts physiology and reproduction as well. We report that sublethal exposure to Temprid SC has variable aberrant effects on bed bugs depending on the strain, including: a reduction in male mating success and delayed oviposition by females. However, after sublethal exposure, egg hatch rate consistently declined in every strain tested, anywhere from 34%-73%. Conversely, impact on fifth instar eclosion time was not significant. While the strains that we tested varied in their respective magnitude of sublethal effects, taken together, these effects could reduce bed bug population growth. These changes in bed bug behavior and fecundity could lead to improved efficacy of Temprid SC in the field, but recovery of impacted bugs must be considered in future studies. Sublethal effects should not be overlooked when evaluating insecticide efficacy, as it is likely that other products may also have indirect effects on population dynamics that could either aid or inhibit successful management of pest populations.

亚致死暴露（sublethal exposure）于杀虫剂可改变昆虫的取食、交配、产卵、繁殖力、发育及诸多其他生活史参数。此类效应可能引发传统剂量-死亡率评估中难以观测到的种群层面后果。此前我们发现，一种常用的复配杀虫剂——含拟除虫菊酯（pyrethroid）与新烟碱类（neonicotinoid）成分的Temprid® SC——对温带臭虫（Cimex lectularius, L.）的多种行为存在有害影响。本文中，我们进一步证实，亚致死暴露同样会对臭虫的生理与繁殖功能产生影响。我们的研究表明，接触Temprid® SC的亚致死暴露会因臭虫品系不同而产生差异化的异常效应，具体包括雄性交配成功率下降以及雌性产卵延迟。然而经亚致死暴露后，所有受试臭虫品系的卵孵化率均持续下降，降幅介于34%至73%之间。与之相对，亚致死暴露对5龄若虫的羽化时间无显著影响。尽管本次受试的臭虫品系在亚致死效应的强度上存在差异，但综合而言，上述效应或可抑制温带臭虫的种群增长。上述温带臭虫行为与繁殖力的变化或有助于提升Temprid® SC在田间的施用效果，但未来的研究仍需考量受影响个体的恢复情况。在评估杀虫剂药效时，亚致死效应不容忽视——目前其他农药产品同样可能对种群动态产生间接影响，此类影响或助力或阻碍有害生物种群的成功防治。