| Ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) are important beneficial polyphagous predators of insect pests in maize fields. This study evaluated the impact of Cry3Bb1 hybrid (corn rootworm-resistant maize) on adult abundance and life stages of coccinellids during preanthesis, anthesis, and postanthesis development of maize. Cry3Bb1 maize expresses a protein derived from a coleopteran-specific kumamotoensis subspecies of Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) that was bioengineered to induce corn rootworm larval mortality. Thus, this hybrid primarily targets, Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence and Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), northern and western corn rootworms that are two of the most injurious insect pests of maize (Zea mays L.) in the Midwestern U.S. cornbelt. If non-target coccinellids were found to be susceptible to this Cry3Bb1 toxin, then they could potentially be negatively impacted by their omnivorous feeding or from preying on herbivorous maize insects. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
