The egg parasitoid Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) regulates lepidopteran pest populations in cotton crops. However, cotton harbors dozens of pests, and growers rely on multiple insecticide applications to manage these damaging organisms. A harmonious integration of control tactics is required for proper pest management, and the use of selective insecticides (i.e., those promoting effective pest control while causing little impact on natural enemies) ts within this scope. This study aimed to assess the lethal, sublethal and transgenerational effects of insecticides from varying chemical groups on T. pretiosum. The insecticides were sprayed on parasitized host [Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller)] eggs with developing T. pretiosum stages (egg-larva, prepupa and pupa), and biological traits were assessed following adult emergence. Overall, pupae were more susceptible to the insecticides. We found thiodicarb and chlorfenapyr to reduce F0 adult emergence in rates comparable to the positive control (methomyl). Adult F0 deformation was the highest on upyradifurone-treated organisms, and both the F0 parasitism rate and female survival were reduced by the insecticides (except for te ubenzuron). The sex ratio was affected by thiodicarb and upyradifurone. Transgenerational effects occurred on adult emergence, which was reduced on the offspring (F1) of thiodicarb-, chlorfenapyr-, and upyradifurone-treated T. pretiosum. In addition, thiodicarb lessened the F1 sex ratio. Combined, these results indicate that te ubenzuron is the safest insecticide; the other insecticides (especially thiodicarb and chlorfenapyr) are non-selective to T. pretiosum. Field and semi eld studies are required to con rm the harmfulness of thiodicarb and chlorfenapyr towards T. pretiosum.(e.g., temperature, radiation and rainfall) mediate insecticide degradation and potentially reduce their toxicity towards insects (Maia et al. 2016), further studies in semi eld and eld conditions are required to con rm the side effects of thiodicarb and chlorfenapyr on T. pretiosum. Declarations

BACKGROUND Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) is released in extensive areas cultivated with cotton worldwide, but the use of synthetic insecticides threatens the establishment of augmented populations. Thus, an assessment of insecticides’ effects on T. pretiosum is required to establish their compatibility with mass releases of the parasitoid. We studied in the laboratory the impact of insecticides administered through different exposure routes (direct‐spraying, ingestion and residue contact) on T. pretiosum. Based on their toxicity, the insecticides were rated into four categories (harmless, slightly harmful, moderately harmful and harmful) as per the International Organization for Biological Control. RESULTS The survival, parasitism ability and emergence of the treated adults and offspring (F1 and F2), in addition to the persistence of the toxic effects in semi‐field conditions, were assessed. Teflubenzuron did not reduce female survival and caused a lesser impact on T. pretiosum on both direct‐spraying and ingestion bioassays. In the residue contact bioassay, teflubenzuron and flupyradifurone were rated as harmless and slightly harmful, respectively. The other active substances (chlorfenapyr, thiodicarb and methomyl) were harmful to the parasitoid by all exposure routes and were persistent (with toxicity duration surpassing 30 days). CONCLUSION From these findings, teflubenzuron is the insecticide most compatible with T. pretiosum releases and should be preferred over the other active substances. Further studies with the harmful insecticides (thiodicarb, chlorfenapyr and methomyl) are required to determine their toxicity under field conditions and confirm their incompatibility with T. pretiosum releases.

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The egg parasitoid Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) regulates lepidopteran pest populations in cotton crops. However, cotton harbors dozens of pests, and growers rely on multiple insecticide applications to manage these damaging organisms. A harmonious integration of control tactics is required for proper pest management, and the use of selective insecticides (i.e., those promoting effective pest control while causing little impact on natural enemies) fits within this scope. This study aimed to assess the lethal, sublethal and transgenerational effects of insecticides from varying chemical groups on T. pretiosum. The insecticides were sprayed on parasitized host [Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller)] eggs with developing T. pretiosum stages (egg-larva, prepupa and pupa), and biological traits were assessed following adult emergence. Overall, pupae were more susceptible to the insecticides. We found thiodicarb and chlorfenapyr to reduce F0 adult emergence in rates comparable to the positive control (methomyl). Adult F0 deformation was the highest on flupyradifurone-treated organisms, and both the F0 parasitism rate and female survival were reduced by the insecticides (except for teflubenzuron). The sex ratio was affected by thiodicarb and flupyradifurone. Transgenerational effects occurred on adult emergence, which was reduced on the offspring (F1) of thiodicarb-, chlorfenapyr-, and flupyradifurone-treated T. pretiosum. In addition, thiodicarb lessened the F1 sex ratio. Combined, these results indicate that teflubenzuron is the safest insecticide; the other insecticides (especially thiodicarb and chlorfenapyr) are non-selective to T. pretiosum. Field and semifield studies are required to confirm the harmfulness of thiodicarb and chlorfenapyr towards T. pretiosum.