Sublethal effects of nine insecticides on Drosophila suzukii and its major pupal parasitoid Trichopria drosophilae

Background: Although the pupal parasitoid Trichopria drosophilae is used in conservative and augmentative biocontrol of Drosophila suzukii infestations, current pest management strategies mostly rely on multiple insecticide applications. In this context, the aim of the study was to investigate the baseline toxicity of nine insecticides on D. suzukii larvae and their multiple sublethal effects (LC10 ) on immature stages of the pest feeding on contaminated diet and T. drosophilae developing within the intoxicated host. Results: Chlorpyriphos and azadirachtin showed the lowest and the highest LC10 , the values of which were 9.78 × 1013 and 1.46 × 103 times lower than their recommended label field rate, respectively. Among tested insecticides, imidacloprid, malathion and dimethoate were the only treatments that did not affect the juvenile development time of D. suzukii, while spinosad and the organophosphates chlorpyriphos and dimethoate did not influence fly pupal size. No sublethal effects were recorded on T. drosophilae degree of infestation (DI) and juvenile development time. On the contrary, cyazypyr and dimethoate negatively affected the success of parasitism (SP) and the number of progeny of the pupal parasitoid, in association with malathion for the first parameter and spinosad for the fertility. Compared to the untreated control, more female progeny emerged following azadirachtin exposure, while dimethoate caused the opposite effect. Imidacloprid, lambda-cyhalothrin and spinetoram decreased hind tibia length of emerged parasitoids. Conclusion: This study provides new insights on the (eco)toxicological profile of nine insecticides and new information needed to support the deployment of T. drosophilae in the field within the sustainable management techniques against D. suzukii. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.