The non-target impact of spinosyns on beneficial arthropods

Spinosyn-based products, mostly spinosad, have been widely recommended by extension specialists and agribusinesscompanies; consequently, they have been used to control various pests in many different cropping systems. Following theworldwide adoption of spinosad-based products for integrated and organic farming, an increasing number of ecotoxicologicalstudies have been published in the past 10 years. These studies are primarily related to the risk assessment of spinosad towardsbeneficial arthropods. This review takes into account recent data with the aim of (i) highlighting potentially adverse effects ofspinosyns on beneficial arthropods (and hence on ecosystem services that they provide in agroecosystems), (ii) clarifying therange of methods used to address spinosyn side effects on biocontrol agents and pollinators in order to provide newinsights forthe development of more accurate bioassays, (iii) identifying pitfalls when analysing laboratory results to assess field risks and(iv) gaining increasing knowledge on side effectswhen using spinosad for integrated pestmanagement (IPM) programmes andorganic farming. For the first time, a thorough review of possible risks of spinosad and novel spinosyns (such as spinetoram)to beneficial arthropods (notably natural enemies and pollinators) is provided. The acute lethal effect and multiple sublethaleffects have been identified in almost all arthropod groups studied. This review will help to optimise the future use of spinosadand new spinosyns in IPM programmes and for organic farming, notably by preventing the possible side effects of spinosynson beneficial arthropods.