Sublethal and transgenerational effects of dinotefuran on biological parameters and behavioural traits of the mirid bug Apolygus lucorum

The mirid bug, Apolygus lucorum, has become a major pest of many crops and fruit trees since the widespread adoption of Bt cotton in northern China. Neonicotinoid insecticides, such as dinotefuran, applied to control this pest may show sublethal effects, but evidence for such effects is lacking. Here, we investigated the sublethal and transgenerational effects of dinotefuran on biological parameters and feeding behavioural traits of A. lucorum using the age-stage, two-sex life table and electrical penetration graphs (EPGs), respectively. The LC(10) and LC(30) of dinotefuran against 3(rd)-instar nymphs of A. lucorum were 14.72 and 62.95 mg L(−1), respectively. These two concentrations significantly extended the development duration from 3(rd)-instar nymph to adult in parent generation (F0). LC(30) also increased the oviposition period and male adult longevity and reduced nymphal survival rate in the F0. For offspring generation (F1), the egg duration, preadult duration, and total preoviposition period were significantly lower at LC(10) than in the control, and the egg duration, duration of 4(th)-instar nymphs, preadult duration, oviposition period, and fecundity were also decreased at LC(30). However, the four demographic parameters of F1 generation, namely, net reproductive rate (R(0)), intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), and mean generation time (T), were not affected by dinotefuran. The significant differences in the number of probes and duration of each of four feeding waveforms failed to be detected when A. lucorum nymphs treated by dinotefuran feed on Bt cotton plants without insecticide exposure. Overall, the dinotefuran concentrations tested here have sublethal, but no transgenerational impacts on A. lucorum.