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Pyrethroid Exposure Reduces Growth And Development Of Monarch Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Caterpillars, Annie Krueger, Kathryn J. Hanford, Thomas Weissling, Ana M. Vélez, Troy D. Anderson

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Insecticide exposure has been identified as a contributing stressor to the decline in the North American monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) population. Monarch toxicity data are currently limited and available data focuses on lethal endpoints. This study examined the 72-h toxicity of two pyrethroid insecticides, bifenthrin and β-cyfluthrin, and their effects on growth and diet consumption. The toxicity of bifenthrin to caterpillars was lower than β-cyfluthrin after 72 h. Survival was the most sensitive endpoint for bifenthrin, but diet consumption and caterpillar growth were significantly reduced at sublethal levels of β-cyfluthrin. Using AgDRIFT spray drift assessment, the aerial …