Integrated control of pests of legume seed crops 1. Insecticides for mirid and aphid control

A series of field trials was carried out to find out which insecticides killed Calocoris norvegicus (Gmelin) (the potato mirid) and Sidnia kinbergi (Stäl) (the Australian crop mirid) in lotus, white clover, and lucerne seed crops. Trichlorphon, bromophos, demeton‐S‐methyl, and endosulfan performed satisfactorily in this respect; pirimicarb did not. Bromophos, demeton‐S‐methyl, and endosulfan also killed aphids. Trichlorphon was the only insecticide which did not apparently kill predatory insects (mainly lacewings, Micromus tasmaniae (Walker)) although none of the other insecticides permanently depressed predator populations. Published evidence on the toxicity of these materials to bees does not always clearly demonstrate whether they are suitable for use in seed crops during the flowering period. A survey of the literature shows that no insecticide is entirely ‘safe’ for use with honey, alkali, bumble, and leaf‐cutting bees and that there is disparity between laboratory assays and field trials.