Ioannidis_1992_Pest.Sci_35_215

The objectives were to select for resistance to carbofuran in a susceptible field population of Colorado potato beetles, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), assess the progression of resistance, and characterize the inheritance and possible mechanism of resistance. Initial selection in the field resulted in over 99.9% mortality of treated larvae but high resistance in the survivors. Subsequent laboratory selection at c.80% mortality increased resistance to > 100-fold by the fourth generation. Low level cross-resistance to azinphos-methyl was also present. Resistance appeared to be inherited via a single, autosomal, incompletely dominant gene, resulting in decreased acetylcholinesterase sensitivity. A second Michigan population also appeared to exhibit reduced cholinesterase sensitivity. Resistance to carbofuran in a Colorado potato beetle population from Long Island, NY appears to involve primarily mixed-function oxidase enzymes. The history of insecticide use probably affects which primary resistance mechanism appears in response to carbofuran treatment.