1 Journal of Nuts Journal homepage: ijnrs.damghaniau.ac.ir Journal of Nuts 10(1) (2019) 35-45 Side Effects of Spirotetramat and Imidacloprid on Hippodamia variegata Goezee Feeding on Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt & Lauterer Maryam Zeinadini Meymand 1 , Najmeh Sahebzadeh* 1 , Sultan Ravan 1 , Mehdi Basirat 2 1 Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran 2 Pistachio Research Center, Horticultural Science Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Rafsanjan, Iran A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Keywords: Demography; Hippodamia variegate; Life table; Pesticide; Pistachio The Adonis ladybird, Hippodamia variegata Goeze (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is known as an important predator of the Common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt & Lauterer (Hemiptera: Psyllidae). Despite using the selective pesticides to manage the pests in the pistachio orchards, these chemicals have influenced non-target organisms like predators and parasitoids. In the present study, the effects of spirotetramat and imidacloprid (500 and 400 ml/1000 L, respectively) on some biological parameters of H. variegata fed on the common pistachio psylla were investigated under laboratory conditions (27.5 ± 1°C, 65 ± 5% RH and 16:8 h L: D photoperiod). To this end, the eggs of ladybird beetles were exposed to pesticides via a Dipping method. In addition, the impact of pesticides on immature and adult stages was studied. The daily number of eggs laid by a female ladybird was also recorded in laboratory conditions. The results showed that spirotetramat and imidacloprid had increased the duration of immature developmental stages (egg, larva, and pupae) and the number of daily laid eggs of female ladybirds compared to those by control (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, p <0.05). The highest and the lowest of net reproductive rates were also observed in control and imidacloprid treatments, respectively. Considering the results, the spirotetramat and imidacloprid had caused adverse effects on the demographic parameters of H. variegata and had also influenced the efficiency of this predator. Therefore, spirotetramat and imidacloprid were suggested to be used in IPM of Agonoscena pistaciae with caution. Introduction The Common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) has been introduced as one of the most important pests of pistachio in Iran, widely distributed throughout the pistachio growing areas (Iraq, Greece, Syria, Turkey, etc). In this respect, the adults and the nymphs of A. pistaciae can directly (sucking of leaf sap and production of a large amount of honeydew) and indirectly (plant growth reduction, defoliation, falling of fruit buds) damage the pistachio trees and finally derease the economic yields (Burckhardt and Lauterer, 1993; Mehrnejad, 2002; Samih et al., 2005). Followed by the growing of pistachio buds in the early spring, this psylla emerges in pistachio orchards and stays on the trees until fall (Mehrnejad, 2001). In recent years, several natural enemies have been also reported on Common pistachio psylla (Mehrnejad, 2001, 2003, 2010; Mehrnejad and Emami, 2005; Mehrnejad et al., 2011, Parish et al., 2013). Accordingly, it has been well- documented that Common pistachio psylla is considered as a good host for at least eight species of ladybirds (Mehrnejad, 2010; Mehrnejad et al., 2011). * Corresponding author: Email address: najmeh.sahebzadeh@gmail.com, n.sahebzadeh@uoz.ac.ir Received: 22 July 2018; Received in revised form: 10 January 2019; Accepted: 28 February 2019 DOI: 10.22034/jon.2019.664207 35