The peach potato aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) is an agricultural pest of high economic importance distributed across much of the globe. The main method of control of this pest is the application of neonicotinoid insecticides such as imidacloprid and thiamethoxam (TMX). Until recently no significant resistance to neonicotinoids was known in M. persicae. In 2009 however, a clone exhibiting severe resistance to neonicotinoids was collected from peach orchards in France. This resistant clone was designated ‘FRC’.
Published literature has shown the high levels of neonicotinoid resistance exhibited by the FRC clone to be due to a combination of adaptations including enhanced overexpression of the detoxifying cytochrome P450 CYP6CY3, a target site mutation in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and reduced cuticular penetration. No studies however have investigated the possibility of a behavioural neonicotinoid resistance mechanism in M. persicae. This study describes an investigation into the presence or absence of a behavioural component to the neonicotinoid resistance of the FRC clone.
Two different aspects of the behaviour of the FRC clone, feeding and dispersal, were compared to that of a clone of low neonicotinoid resistance (5191A) and a clone of complete neonicotinoid susceptibility (US1L). A significant difference was found in the dispersal behaviour of the FRC clone which could potentially contribute to its high levels of neonicotinoid resistance. Further investigation was then undertaken to determine whether this altered behaviour influenced the efficiency of the FRC clone as a vector of the persistently transmitted Turnip Yellows virus. No difference in vector ability was detected between the US1L and FRC clones. This study concludes that there is significant evidence of a potential behavioural aspect to the neonicotinoid resistance of the M. persicae FRC clone.