Acute toxicity effects of pesticides on predatory snout mites (family Bdellidae)

Dataset and code for publication "Acute toxicity effects of pesticides on predatory snout mites (family Bdellidae)" by Knapp et al. 

Abstract: Predatory mites biologically control a range of arthropod crop pests, and are often central to agricultural IPM strategies globally. Conflict between chemical and biological pest control has prompted increasing interest in selective pesticides with fewer off-target impacts on beneficial invertebrates such as predatory mites. However, the diversity of predatory mite species included in standardised pesticide toxicity assessments does not match the diversity of naturally-occuring mites contributing to biocontrol, with most testing carried out on the family Phytoseiidae. Here, we aim to bridge this knowledge gap by investigating the impacts of 22 agricultural pesticide formulations on the understudied predatory snout mite Odontoscirus lapidaria (family Bdellidae) following internationally standardised methodologies. The results reveal important differences in Bdellidae and Phytoseiidae responses to the miticides diafenthiuron and abamectin, suggesting generalisations cannot be made across families. We also report species-specific discrepancies in chlorpyrifos tolerance even within two Bdellidae species, further highlighting the context-specificity of toxicity assessments. Despite this, we identified several active ingredients with minimal impact on O. lapidaria mortality, including Bacillus thuringiensis, Nuclearpolyhedrosis virus, flonicamid, afidopyropen and chlorantraniliprole, which are likely good candidates for IPM strategies utilising both chemical and biological control.

Project funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) under the Australian Grains Pest Innovation Program (AGPIP)