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3107826 
Technical Report 
Organophosphorus insecticides stimulated egg laying of mites reared on the treated cotton plants 
Leigh, TF; Wynholds, PF 
1980 
PESTAB/81/1204 
Agric 
10 
PESTAB. Cotton plants were treated 3 times at 2 wk intervals in greenhouse experiments with normal dosage rates of either methyl parathion, toxaphene + DDT, or dimethoate. After the third application, two-spotted mites were reared individually from egg to adult stages on treated plants. Control populations were reared on untreated plants. Treatment with methyl parathion or dimethoate did not affect egg hatch or the time of mite development. Treatments did significantly affect reproduction by spider mites. Significantly more sider mite eggs were produced on toxaphene + DDT treated plants than on the others, but the total of all stages did not significantly differ from controls. The results of the study suggest that spider mite outbreaks in cotton fields are not only caused by the killing of the natural predators of the mites, but also by the stimulation of mite reproduction in their early adult life.