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Toxicity measurements were made with three closely‐related Bollworm species, Heliothis virescens F., Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and Helicoverpa armigera (Huebner) using insecticides of 3 different chemical classes. Tests were carried out by a leaf‐dip method using neonate larval stages, a topical application test on 3rd larvae, and a topical test with imagines. H. armigera populations from Ivory Coast, Turkey, Thailand, and India were obtained and investigated. H. virescens originated from the USA and Colombia, and H. zea from Guatemala and Nicaragua. Resistance was expressed in all species, the sensitive reference strains having similar LC50s in tests with monocrotophos, profenofos, thiodicarb, and methomyl. Since resistance appeared not to be a quality related to species but rather a feature common to all of the samples investigated, its origin must be connected with the type of cotton culture and the selection pressure they were subjected to in their respective agro‐ecosystem. Resistance was highest for monocrotophos and cypermethrin in Central American countries, differences in the treatment regime being reflected by the resistance levels attained. In all stages tested, resistance was sufficiently well expressed to make a monitoring system based on neonate larvae, the 3rd larval stage, or imagines of the species possible. The final decision as to which should be used for a general, comparative monitoring system, therefore, should be governed by the technical parameters of the testing process.

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