Excretion of non-metabolized insecticides in honeydew of striped pine scale

Honeydew production is a characteristic of soft scales and other hemipteran insects. Honeydew has the capacity to alter the ecology of predators and parasitoids because it is used as a food resource and can contain insecticidal proteins from hemipteran host plants. We examined honeydew excreted by the striped pine scale (Hemiptera: Coccidae), Toumeyella pini (King), after feeding on pine trees treated with systemic insecticides to determine whether they could eliminate insecticidal compounds in honeydew. Imidacloprid and spirotetramat were applied at labeled rates to soil or foliage. Water sensitive paper was used to measure honeydew production and liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to analyze excreted insecticide concentrations. Foliar and soil applications of imidacloprid caused a 25-fold reduction honeydew produced by scales six days after treatment (DAT). In contrast, spirotetramat treatments did not affect honeydew production. Parent compounds of both insecticides were detected in honeydew. However, on imidacloprid treated plants, these compounds were detected at similar concentrations in honeydew collected at 4 DAT from soil and foliar treatments. Imidacloprid was only detected from soil treatments at 8 DAT. Similarly, the spirotetramat parent compound was found 4 DAT after soil and foliar treatments, but only at 8 DAT in foliar treatments. At this time the concentration of spirotetramat in honeydew was six-fold higher than at 4 DAT. We conclude that striped pine scales excrete insecticides in honeydew even when the toxicant greatly reduces honeydew production. Honeydew excretion is thus a mechanism of bioaccumulation and has the potential to harm honeydew-feeding organisms. Parent compounds of imidacloprid and spirotetramat were detected in honeydew excreted by striped pine scales. Concentration of these insecticides in honeydew varied among active ingredients, application method and sampling times. [Display omitted] •Pesticides applied to host plants were excreted in insect honeydew within 4 days.•Differing concentrations were recovered depending on pesticide and treatment type.•Imidacloprid concentration in honeydew was steady over time in soil treatments.•Spirotetramat concentration in honeydew was higher in foliar than soil treatments.•Results show how pesticide excretion in honeydew can enhance bio-availability.