title: DIETARY SILVER NANOPARTICLES REDUCE FITNESS IN A BENEFICIAL, BUT NOT PEST, INSECT SPECIES.
abstract: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have antimicrobial and insecticidal properties and they have been considered for their potential use as insecticides. While they do, indeed, kill some insects, two broader issues have not been considered in a critical way. First, reports of insect-lethal AgNPs are often based on simplistic methods that yield nanoparticles of nonuniform shapes and sizes, leaving questions about the precise treatments test insects experienced. Second, we do not know how AgNPs influence beneficial insects. This work addresses these issues. We assessed the influence of AgNPs on life history parameters of two agricultural pest insect species, Heliothis virescens (tobacco budworm) and Trichoplusia ni (cabbage looper) and a beneficial predatory insect species, Podisus maculiventris (spined soldier bug), all of which act in agroecosystems. Rearing the two pest species on standard media amended with AgNPs led to negligible influence on developmental times, pupal weights, and adult emergence, however, they led to retarded development, reductions in adult weight and fecundity, and increased mortality in the predator. These negative effects on the beneficial species, if also true for other beneficial insect species, would have substantial negative implications for continued development of AgNPs for insect pest management programs.
authors: Department of Life and Physical Sciences, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA.|Department of Math and Sciences, Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo, California, USA.
authors: Zahra
authors: Z
authors: Afrasiabi
authors: USDA/ARS Biological Control of Insects Research Laboratory, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
authors: Holly J R
authors: HJ
authors: Popham
authors: USDA/ARS Biological Control of Insects Research Laboratory, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Stanley
authors: Department of Bioengineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
authors: Dhananjay
authors: D
authors: Suresh
authors: Department of Life and Physical Sciences, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA.
authors: Kristen
authors: K
authors: Finley
authors: Department of Life and Physical Sciences, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri, USA.
authors: Jonelle
authors: J
authors: Campbell
authors: Department of Bioengineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.|Department of Radiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
authors: Raghuraman
authors: R
authors: Kannan
authors: Institute of Clinical and Translational Science, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.|Department of Physics, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
authors: Anandhi
authors: A
authors: Upendran
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D020062:Heteroptera / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D007306:Insecticides / Q000633:toxicity; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000633:toxicity; D009036:Moths / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D009758:Nymph / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D011679:Pupa; D012834:Silver / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D012834:Silver
keywords: Heliothis virescens; Podisus maculiventris; Trichoplusia ni; silver nanoparticles