Skip to main content

Insecticide Resistance

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Entomology
  • 144 Accesses

Insecticide resistance refers to the insecticide- selected inheritable ability of an insect or other arthropod population to withstand the exposure to a dose of an insecticide that would kill the majority of a normal (susceptible) population of the same species. Insects and other arthropods acquire resistance to natural, synthetic or bioengineered insecticides through various genetic alterations. Insecticide resistance is known to occur in target species for virtually all insecticide classes.

In contrast to resistance, insecticide tolerance is a natural tendency and is not a result of forced change in the genetic makeup of a population. Therefore, tolerance is often known as natural resistance. Many factors can lead to tolerance to insecticides in an insect. For example, old larvae of many lepidopteran insects are more tolerant to many insecticides than young larvae of the same species due to substantial differences in body size, cuticle thickness, and detoxification ability. Such...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 599.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Clark JM, Yamaguchi I (2002) Scope and status of pesticide resistance. In: Clark JM, Yamaguchi I (eds) Agrochemical resistance: extent, mechanism, and detection. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, pp 1–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Forgash AJ (1984) History, evolution, and consequences of insecticide resistance. Pestic Biochem Physiol 22:178–186

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Melander AL (1914) Can insects become resistant to sprays? J Econ Entomol 7:167

    Google Scholar 

  • Soderlund DM (1997) Molecular mechanisms of insecticide resistance. In: Sjut V, Butters JA, Sjut V (eds), Molecular mechanisms of resistance to agrochemicals (Chemistry of plant protection, 13). Springer, Berlin, Germany, pp 21–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Ware GW (2000) The pesticide book, 5th edn. Thomson Publications, Fresno, CA, 418 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu KY (2002) Resistance management. In: Pimentel D (ed) Encyclopedia of pest management. Marcel Dekker, New York, NY, pp 705–707

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this entry

Cite this entry

Zhu, K. (2008). Insecticide Resistance. In: Capinera, J.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_1543

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics