Selection, Reversion, and Characterization of House Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Behavioral Resistance to the Insecticide Imidacloprid

Behavioral resistance to insecticides: current understanding, challenges, and future directions

Identifying and understanding behavioral resistance to insecticides is vital for maintaining global food security, public health, and ecological balance. Behavioral resistance has been documented to occur in a multitude of insect taxa dating back to the 1940s, but has not received significant research attention due primarily to the complexities of studying insect behavior and a lack of any clear definition of behavioral resistance. In recent years, a systematic effort to investigate the mechanism(s) of behavioral resistance in pest taxa (e.g. the German cockroach and the house fly) has been undertaken. Here, we practically define behavioral resistance, describe the efforts taken by research groups to elucidate resistance mechanisms, and provide insight on designing appropriate bioassays for investigating behavioral resistance mechanisms in the future.

The exposure risk of heavy metals to insect pests and their impact on pests occurrence and cross-tolerance to insecticides: A review

Heavy metal (HM) pollution is a severe global environmental issue. HMs in the environment can transfer along the food chain, which aggravates their ecotoxicological effect and exposes the insects to heavy metal stress. In addition to their growth-toxic effects, HMs have been reported as abiotic environmental factors that influence the implementation of integrated pest management strategies, including microbial control, enemy insect control, and chemical control. This will bring new challenges to pest control and further highlight the ecotoxicological impact of HM pollution. In this review, the relationship between HM pollution and insecticide tolerance in pests was analyzed. Our focus is on the risks of HM exposure to pests, pests tolerance to insecticides under HM exposure, and the mechanisms underlying the effect of HM exposure on pests tolerance to insecticides. We infer that HM exposure, as an initial stressor, induces cross-tolerance in pests to subsequent insecticide stress. Additionally, the priming effect of HM exposure on enzymes associated with insecticide metabolism underlies cross-tolerance formation. This is a new interdisciplinary field between pollution ecology and pest control, with an important guidance value for optimizing pest control strategies in HM polluted areas.

Evaluation of the stability of physiological and behavioral resistance to imidacloprid in the house fly (Musca domestica L.) (Diptera: Muscidae)

BACKGROUND

The house fly (Musca domestica L.) is a synanthropic fly species commonly associated with confined animal facilities. House fly control relies heavily on insecticide use. Neonicotinoids are currently the most widely used class of insecticide and have been formulated into granular fly baits since 2002. Physiological resistance to imidacloprid in house flies has been observed to be unstable and decline over time without continual selection pressure, indicating that resistance has a fitness cost to individuals in the absence of exposure to insecticides. The stability of behavioral resistance to imidacloprid in the house fly has not been evaluated. In the current study, we assess the stability of physiological and behavioral resistance in house flies to imidacloprid over time.

RESULTS

Physiological susceptibility to imidacloprid varied significantly among three house fly strains examined, with WT-15 exhibiting the greatest susceptibility to imidacloprid with an LC50 and LC95 of 109.29 (95.96-124.49) μg g-1 and 1486.95 (1097.15-2015.23) μg g-1 , respectively. No significant differences in survival were observed across 30 generations of a house fly strain (BRS-1) previously selected for behavioral resistance to imidacloprid with percentage survival ranging from 93.20% at F0 in 2020 to 96.20% survival at F30 in 2022.

CONCLUSION

These results have significant implications for the management of house flies exhibiting behavioral resistance in field settings. It appears that standard resistance management tactics deployed to reduce the prevalence of physiological resistance, such as rotating or temporarily discontinuing the use of specific insecticides, may not lead to reduced behavioral resistance to imidacloprid. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Evaluation of the inheritance and dominance of behavioral resistance to imidacloprid in the house fly (Musca domestica L.) (Diptera: Muscidae)

The house fly, Musca domestica, is a cosmopolitan species known for its pestiferous nature and potential to mechanically vector numerous human and animal pathogens. Control of adult house flies often relies on insecticides formulated into food baits. However, due to the overuse of these baits, insecticide resistance has developed to all insecticide classes currently registered for use in the United States. Field populations of house flies have developed resistance to imidacloprid, the most widely used neonicotinoid insecticide for fly control, through both physiological and behavioral resistance mechanisms. In the current study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the inheritance and dominance of behavioral resistance to imidacloprid in a lab-selected behaviorally resistant house fly strain. Additionally, we conducted feeding preference assays to assess the feeding responses of genetic cross progeny to imidacloprid. Our results confirmed that behavioral resistance to imidacloprid is inherited as a polygenic trait, though it is inherited differently between male and female flies. We also demonstrated that feeding preference assays can be instrumental in future genetic inheritance studies as they provide direct insight into the behavior of different strains under controlled conditions that reveal, interactions between the organism and the insecticide. The findings of this study carry significant implications for pest management and underscore the need for integrated pest control approaches that consider genetic and ecological factors contributing to resistance.

Concentration Dependent Feeding on Imidacloprid by Behaviorally Resistant House Flies, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae)

The house fly (Musca domestica L.) is a cosmopolitan and synanthropic pest fly commonly associated with confined animal facilities, known to mechanically vector numerous disease-causing pathogens. Control of adult house flies often relies on insecticides formulated into insecticidal baits, though many baits have failed due to insecticide resistance. House fly resistance to imidacloprid, the most widely used neonicotinoid insecticide available for fly control, has evolved through physiological and behavioral mechanisms in field populations. Behavioral resistance to imidacloprid was documented in field populations of flies from southern California dairies. Lab colonies of these flies were established and behavioral resistance to imidacloprid was selected over several generations. The current study examined the ability of these lab-selected flies to feed on varying concentrations of imidacloprid formulated in sucrose, and if these flies would demonstrate a feeding preference for different concentrations of imidacloprid when exposed in bioassays. Behaviorally resistant flies preferred to feed on untreated sucrose as opposed to treated sucrose at concentrations greater than 25 µg/g imidacloprid when provided sucrose treated with and without imidacloprid. When provisioned with only sucrose treated with a low and high imidacloprid concentration, flies fed on the low concentrations (≤100 µg/g) imidacloprid but reduced feeding on either treatment when concentrations were >100 µg/g imidacloprid. The current study extends the body of knowledge on house fly behavioral resistance to imidacloprid, which could provide insights into future failures of granular fly baits.

Multiple Genetic Mutations Related to Insecticide Resistance are Detected in Field Kazakhstani House Flies (Muscidae: Diptera)

The house fly (Musca domestica Linnaeus) is an important disease vector. Insecticide resistance is an obstacle to effective house fly control. Previous studies have demonstrated that point mutations in acetylcholinesterase (Ace), carboxylesterase (MdαE7) and voltage-sensitive sodium channel (Vssc), and over-expression of CYP6D1v1 confer insecticide resistance in the house fly. However, information about the status and underlying mechanisms of insecticide resistance in Kazakhstani house flies is lacking. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of genetic mutations associated with insecticide resistance in field house flies collected at six different locations in southern Kazakhstan. Four mutations (V260L, G342A/V, and F407Y) in Ace and three mutations (G137D and W251L/S) in MdαE7 were detected with appreciable frequencies. Notably, haplotypes carrying triple-loci mutations in Ace and double mutations in MdαE7 were found in Kazakhstan. The L1014H and L1014F mutations in Vssc, and CYP6D1v1 resistance allele were detected at a low frequency in some of the six investigated house fly populations. Phylogenetic analyses of haplotypes supported multiple origins of resistance mutations in Ace and MdαE7. These observations suggest that house flies in southern Kazakhstan may exhibit significant resistance to organophosphates and carbamates. Regular monitoring of insecticide resistance is recommended to achieve effective house fly control by chemical agents in southern Kazakhstan.

Genetic evaluation and characterization of behavioral resistance to imidacloprid in the house fly

Insecticide resistance in pest populations is an increasing problem in both urban and rural settings due to over-application of insecticides and lack of rotation among insecticidal chemical classes. The house fly (Musca domestica L.) is a cosmopolitan pest fly species implicated in the transmission of numerous pathogens. The evolution of insecticide resistance long has been documented in house flies, with resistance reported to all major insecticide classes. House fly resistance to imidacloprid, the most widely used neonicotinoid insecticide available for fly control, has evolved in field populations through both physiological and behavioral mechanisms. Previous studies have characterized and mapped the genetic changes that confer physiological resistance to imidacloprid, but no study have examined the genetics involved in behavioral resistance to imidacloprid to date. In the current study, several approaches were utilized to characterize the genetics and inheritance of behavioral resistance to imidacloprid in the house fly. These include behavioral observation analyses, preference assays, and the use of genetic techniques for the identification of house fly chromosome(s) carrying factors. Behavioral resistance was mapped to autosomes 1 and 4. Inheritance of resistance was shown to be neither fully dominant nor recessive. Factors on autosomes 1 and 4 independently conferred contact-dependent avoidance of imidacloprid and a feeding preference for sugar alone or for sugar with dinotefuran, another neonicotinoid insecticide, over imidacloprid. This study serves as the first linkage analysis of a behavioral trait in the house fly, and provides new avenues for research regarding inherited behavior in the house fly and other animals.

Review of Methods to Monitor House Fly (Musca domestica) Abundance and Activity

The house fly is a ubiquitous pest commonly associated with animal facilities and urban waste. When present in large numbers, house flies can negatively impact humans and animals through nuisance and the transmission of pathogens. Since the development of fly traps and sticky papers to capture flies in the late 1800s, these and other methods have been used as a means to monitor change in house fly density or fly activity over time. Methods include substrate sampling to record density of immature flies, visual observations of adult fly activity, instantaneous counts of landing or resting flies, accumulation of adult flies on/in traps, or accumulation of fly fecal and regurgitation spots deposited by flies onto white cards. These methods do not estimate true house fly density, but rather provide an index of house fly activity that is related to both fly density and the frequency of individual fly behavior (e.g., frequency of flight, landing events) and which is likely more predictive of negative impacts such as nuisance and pathogen transmission. Routine monitoring of house fly activity is a critical component of a house fly management program. Fly activity should be held to a level below a predetermined activity threshold ('action threshold') above which negative impacts are anticipated to occur. This article is a review of methods utilized for monitoring house fly (Diptera: Muscidae) activity.

Monitoring House Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Activity on Animal Facilities

Monitoring house fly (Diptera: Muscidae) activity on animal facilities is a necessary component of an integrated pest management (IPM) program to reduce the negative impacts of these flies. This article describes monitoring methods appropriate for use on animal facilities with discussion of monitoring device use and placement. Action thresholds are presented where these have been suggested by researchers. Sampling precision is an important aspect of a monitoring program, and the number of monitoring devices needed to detect a doubling of fly activity is presented for monitoring methods where this information is available. It should be noted that both action thresholds and numbers of monitoring devices will be different for every animal facility. Suggested action thresholds and numbers of monitoring devices are presented only to provide guidance when initiating a fly monitoring program. Facility managers can adjust these values based upon the fly activity data recorded at their facility. Spot cards are generally recommended as an easy-to-use method for monitoring fly activity for most animal facilities. Fly ribbons or similar sticky devices are recommended where several pest fly species may be abundant and identifying the activity of each species is important, but a sampling period of <7 d may be needed in dusty conditions or when fly density is high. Fly ribbons are not recommended for outdoor use. Insecticide-baited traps may be used in outdoor locations where environmental conditions limit the use of spot cards, fly ribbons, and sticky traps.