Effect of Boll Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Diapause Control Insecticide Treatments on Predaceous Arthropod Populations in Cotton Fields

Four insecticide applications were applied annually to more than 98% of the total cotton acreage in the Panola County, Miss., Optimum Pest Management Trial (OPM trial) from 1978 through 1980 for diapause control of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman. Data comparing major predatory arthropod species populations in the OPM area with that from Pontotoc County, Miss., where current insect control practices were used showed that the diapause treatments did not adversely affect these predator populations during the years that the OPM trial was in effect.