Badger Beat Patterns of Resistance in Wisconsin Colorado Potato Beetle Populations Is it time for proactive pest management programs that integrate non-neonicotinoid insecticides? By Russell L. Groves, University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Entomology
For almost three decades neonicotinoid insecticides containing clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam have been the cornerstone of at-plant insect pest management in cultivated potatoes.
Adult Colorado potato beetles colonize on early emerging potatoes. Photo courtesy of D. Cappaert (www.insectimages.org)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted the first imidacloprid registration to Miles Laboratories (now Bayer Crop Science), in 1994, for use on turfgrass and ornamentals. One year later, the initial registration of imidacloprid
Colorado potato beetle (CPB), or Leptinotarsa decemlineata, as well as piercing-sucking insect pests (e.g., green peach aphid [Myzus persicae], potato aphid [Macrosiphum], and potato leafhopper [Empoasca fabae]), and below-ground insect pests,
56 BC�T March
(Admire 2F) posted for potato growers. Producers had access to a new group of water-soluble, systemic insecticides that provided excellent control of leaf-feeding pests like the