Effects of a Chenopodium-based botanical insecticide/acaricide on Orius insidiosus (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and Aphidius colemani (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

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.