Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), is the main destructive insect pest of grain crops that occurs in all maize growing regions of the Americas. It has rapidly invaded the Southern China since January 2019. However, the current status of insecticide resistance in S. frugiperda has not been reported in China. In this study, we determined the susceptibility of eight populations of FAW to eight insecticides by an artificial diet incorporation method. The results showed that among eight insecticides, emamectin benzoate, spinetoram, chlorantraniliprole, chlorfenapyr, and lufenuron showed higher toxicity to this pest, while lambda-cyhalothrin and azadirachtin exhibited lower toxicity. Susceptibility of S. frugiperda to indoxacarb was significantly different (10.0-fold for LC 50 ) across the various geographic populations. To investigate the biochemical mechanism of FAW to lambda-cyhalothrin, we performed the synergism tests and the results showed that piperonyl butoxide (PBO) and triphenyl phosphate (TPP) produced a high synergism of lambda-cyhalothrin effects in the two field populations. Sequencing of the gene encoding the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) gene in the two field populations identified two amino acid mutations, all of which have been shown previously to confer resistance to organophosphates (OPs) in several arthropod species. The results of this study provided valuable information for choosing alternative insecticides and for insecticide resistance management of S. frugiperda .
The maize armyworm, Mythimna separata is a polyphagous insect pest of sporadic occurrence. Thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid insecticide used for the management of many pests in many parts of the world. To develop a resistance management strategy, selection for resistance, the larval fitness parameters and the biochemical mechanisms of resistance to thiamethoxam were studied for thiamethoxam-selected and susceptible M. separata strains based on laboratory observations. The results of our bioassay showed that the thiamethoxam-selected strain was 17.03-fold more resistant than the susceptible strain. The thiamethoxam-selected strain had prolonged larval durations, lower pre-pupal weight of males, and a longer development time from egg to adult than the susceptible strain. The biochemical analyses showed that the GST, CarE and cytochrome P450 enzymes are associated with the development of thiamethoxam resistance in the thiamethoxam-selected strain of M. separata . In this study, the occurrence of resistance may cost developmental fitness for the thiamethoxam-selected strain and provide useful information for designing management strategies to delay resistance.