ABSTRACT

Throughout history, a relatively small number of insect species have threatened human welfare by transmitting disease, reducing agricultural productivity, damaging forests and urban landscapes, or acting as general nuisances. Humans have attempted to eradicate, control, or manage these pests using a wide variety of methods including chemical, biological, cultural, and mechanical control (National Academy of Sciences, 1969). The main strategy used in the second half of the 20th century for controlling pests has been the use of chemical pesticides (van den Bosch, 1978; Casida and Quistad, 1998).