Impacts of Bt cotton and corn on non-target arthropods

In recent years ~ a third of the corn and almost half of the cotton grown in the US contained one or more Bt proteins designed to provide protection against major pests of these crops and the use of Bt crops worldwide has been expanding.  Thirteen studies in diverse environments in the US and Australia examined the impacts of Bt cotton and corn on non-target arthropods and they are reported in the October 2005 issue of Environmental Entomology (Bhatti et al., 2005; Bitzer et al., 2005; Daly and Buntin, 2005; Dively, 2005; Lopez et al., 2005; Naranjo, 2005; Pilcher et al., 2005; Torres and Ruberson, 2005; Whitehouse et al., 2005).  These two crops encompassed five different Bt proteins and involved evaluation of a wide taxonomic breadth of nontarget arthropods. All but one of the studies involved a minimum of three years (seven studies were 3 yr in duration) of field research (Naranjo, 2005).

References

Bhatti, M.A., J. Duan, G. Head, C. Jiang, M.J. McKee, T.E. Nickson, C.L. Pilcher, and C.D. Pilcher. 2005. Field Evaluation of the Impact of Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)-Protected Bt Corn on Ground-Dwelling Invertebrates. Environmental Entomology 34:1325-1335.

Bitzer, R.J., M.E. Rice, C.D. Pilcher, C.L. Pilcher, and W.-k.f. Lam. 2005. Biodiversity and Community Structure of Epedaphic and Euedaphic Springtails (Collembola) in Transgenic Rootworm Bt Corn. Environmental Entomology 34:1346-1376.

Daly, T., and G.D. Buntin. 2005. Effect of Bacillus thuringiensis Transgenic Corn for Lepidopteran Control on Nontarget Arthropods. Environmental Entomology 34:1292-1301.

Dively, G.P. 2005. Impact of Transgenic VIP3A * Cry1Ab Lepidopteran-resistant Field Corn on the Nontarget Arthropod Community. Environmental Entomology 34:1267-1291.

Lopez, M.D., J.R. Prasifka, D.J. Bruck, and L.C. Lewis. 2005. Utility of Ground Beetle Species in Field Tests of Potential Nontarget Effects of Bt Crops. Environmental Entomology 34:1317-1324.

Naranjo, S.E. 2005. Long-Term Assessment of the Effects of Transgenic Bt Cotton on the Abundance of Nontarget Arthropod Natural Enemies. Environmental Entomology 34:1193-1210.

Pilcher, C.D., M.E. Rice, and J.J. Obrycki. 2005. Impact of Transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis Corn and Crop Phenology on Five Nontarget Arthropods. Environmental Entomology 34:1302-1316.

Torres, J.B., and J.R. Ruberson. 2005. Canopy- and Ground-Dwelling Predatory Arthropods in Commercial Bt and non-Bt Cotton Fields: Patterns and Mechanisms. Environmental Entomology 34:1242-1256.

Whitehouse, M.E.A., L.J. Wilson, and G.P. Fitt. 2005. A Comparison of Arthropod Communities in Transgenic Bt and Conventional Cotton in Australia. Environmental Entomology 34:1224-1241.