UDA-245 is a Chenopodium-based natural insecticide. Forty-eight hours after treatment with this compound, Orius insidiosus (Say) and Aphidius colemani Viereck showed slight contact toxicity at 5 g AI liter(-1). There was no residual toxicity to A colemani. These two beneficials are currently used in commercial flower and vegetable greenhouses for the management of thrips, spider mites, aphids and small caterpillars. In contrast, abamectin and insecticidal soap were toxic by contact to both species. UDA-245 did not reduce the number of eggs laid by treated O insidiosus. The eclosion of these eggs was also not adversely affected by UDA-245. The other two insecticides, abamectin and insecticidal soap had no effect on the emergence of A colemani from treated aphid mummies. However, abamectin decreased the percentage of aphid parasitism by A colemani following a residual treatment. The LC50 for UDA-245 for the two beneficials is slightly over twice the recommended field dose.

A laboratory study assessed the contact toxicity of indoxacarb, abamectin, endosulfan, insecticidal soap, S-kinoprene and dimethoate to Amblyseius fallacis (Garman), Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot and nymphs of Orius insidiosus (Say). Amblyseius fallacis is a predacious phytoseiid mite and an integral part of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes in North American apple orchards. The other two beneficials are widely used in greenhouses to manage various arthropod pests infesting vegetable and ornamental crops. Indoxacarb is a slow-acting insecticide, so toxicity data were recorded 7 days post-treatment when the data had stabilised. It showed no toxicity to O. insidiosus nymphs or to A. fallacis or P. persimilis adults. The LC50 values for O. insidiosus nymphs and P. persimilis could not be estimated with their associated confidence limits, because the g values were greater than 0.5 and under such circumstances the lethal concentration would lie outside the limits. The LC50 for A. fallacis was 7.6x the label rate. The fecundity of P. persimilis was reduced by 26.7%. The eclosion of treated eggs from both species of beneficial mites was not affected adversely. Among the other pest control products, S-kinoprene and endosulfan affected adversely at least one species of the predators, whereas dimethoate, abamectin and insecticidal soap were very toxic to all three beneficials. Indoxacarb should be evaluated as a pest control product in IPM programmes.

The contact toxicity of indoxacarb, abamectin, endosulfan, insecticide soap, S-kinoprene and dimethoate to Orius insidiosus (Say) and Aphidius colemani Viereck were studied in the laboratory. These beneficials are often used in the greenhouses to manage various insect pests. Indoxacarb is slow acting and therefore, to estimate lethal dosages, observations should be continued for several days until data stabilize. Seven days after treatment, the LC50 was 0.119 g AI litre(-1) for O insidiosus adults and 0.019 g AI litre(-1) for A colemani. At that time, the recommended field concentration was 0.479 times the LC50 for O insidiosus adults and three times the LC50 for A colemani. In contrast, indoxacarb had no adverse effect on the reproductive capacity of wasps surviving a treatment or the developing wasps in the aphid mummy. Among the other insecticides S-kinoprene was the most innocuous while dimethoate was the most toxic to the two beneficials. The other insecticides had overlapping toxicities.

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