Johnson, M.W., & Tabashnik, B.E. 1999 Enhanced biological control through pesticide selectivity.. Handbook of Biological Control: Principles and Applications of Biological Control. Academic Press San Diego et al. 1046 pp.

Notes: This section discusses how pesticides can disrupt biological control through both direct and indirect effects. Sublethal effects may lead to poor searching or habitat orientation, for example. Short-term direct mortality and reduction of hosts have the greatest impact. Due to cumulative uptake of toxins, biological control agents that are better searchers (more mobile) may be at a disadvantage. The authors propose that pesticide companies furnish information on the detrimental effects of pesticides on natural enemies relative to the specific crop and locality. They note also that there are relatively few documented pest population thresholds for initiating pesticide treatments, even though such thresholds are vital to this issue. Pest species discussed include Aonidiella aurantii, Lepidosaphes beckii and Phenacaspis pinifoliae.