Lethal and sublethal effects of chlorantraniliprole on the migratory moths Agrotis ipsilon and A. segetum: New perspectives for pest management strategies

Abstract BACKGROUND Agrotis ipsilon and A. segetum are major migratory pests of many crops in China, and frequent regional outbreaks cause severe yield losses. Use of food attractants is one of the most promising control methods against adult lepidoptera, notably through the attract‐and‐kill strategy. Chlorantraniliprole's acute toxicity and sublethal effects on both moths were evaluated. RESULTS Chlorantraniliprole showed high activity against both adults of both species, with LC 20 and LC 50 values of 0.08 and 0.21 mg L −1 ( A. ipsilon ), and 0.14 and 0.51 mg L −1 ( A. segetum ). The fecundity, effective oviposition rate, and egg hatching rate of both species in dual‐sex exposure treatments were all significantly reduced compared with the control, and the population growth coefficients in the LC 50 ♀ × LC 50 ♂ treatments were only 0.32% ( A. ipsilon ) and 3.35% ( A. segetum ) that of the control. Furthermore, the flight distance was significantly suppressed from 6.67 km (control) to 0.01 km (LC 50 ) for A. ipsilon , and from 7.39 km (control) to 0.78 km (LC 50 ) for A. segetum . The proportions of robust‐ and medium‐flight individuals of A. ipsilon and A. segetum in exposure treatments were greatly reduced. CONCLUSIONS Low lethal concentration exposures to chlorantraniliprole can drastically reduce the reproduction and flight performance of A. ipsilon and A. segetum , while inhibiting the production of offspring, suggesting chlorantraniliprole would be an excellent compound for use in combination with food attractants. Chlorantraniliprole has good potential for management of the two long‐range migratory pests tested using an attract‐and‐kill strategy. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.