Field bioassay to evaluate contact and residual toxicities of insecticides to carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae).

A 2-yr field study evaluated the effects of selected insecticides on Bembidion obscurellum Motschulsky and Bembidion quadrimaculatum L., carabid predators of the wheat midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin). A bioassay method using caged beetles indicated that insecticides differed significantly in their contact and residual toxicities when applied at maximum recommended field rates. Deltamethrin, the least toxic insecticide, caused approximately 30% mortality in both beetle species, but its residual toxicity on the soil remained constant for 1 wk. Dimethoate was initially more toxic (73% mortality) than deltamethrin but less toxic after 1 wk (12% mortality). Carbofuran and chlorpyrifos, the most toxic contact sprays, caused 83 to 100% mortality. After 1 wk, the residual toxicity of carbofuran had declined markedly (5% mortality) whereas the toxicity of chlorpyrifos remained high (82% mortality). Pitfall trapping was an inconclusive method of evaluating the toxicity of insecticidal sprays to carabid adults. In plots treated with carbofuran, pitfall catches of Bembidion species were not significantly different from those in control plots during a 6-wk period after spraying. In plots treated with chlorpyrifos, catches of Bembidion species were significantly lower than those in control plots 3-16 d after spraying, but not thereafter. Results suggested that adult immigration and residual toxicity influence pitfall catches and recovery of carabid populations after spraying.