Field‐evolved resistance of the bean flower thrips Megalurothrips usitatus to a novel insecticide broflanilide

Abstract BACKGROUND Meta‐diamide and isoxazolines insecticides [Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC) Group 30] such as broflanilide are increasingly used in pest control, but their resistance risk in field populations remains unclear. We investigated susceptibility to broflanilide and related compounds in the bean flower thrips Megalurothrips usitatus across major production regions in China. RESULTS The baseline susceptibility of M. usitatus to broflanilide was estimated to be 0.51 mg/L. In 2023, 2 years after the release of broflanilide, several field populations had already developed high resistance, with median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) values ranging from 319.80 to 3547.01 mg/L (387.30‐ to 7374.26‐fold relative to the baseline). By 2024, resistance had increased dramatically in multiple populations from Hainan Province, with LC 50 values ranging from 7804.77 to 20 594.08 mg/L and resistance ratios from >16 000 to >40 000. Some populations showed moderate variation in susceptibility to the meta‐diamide cyproflanilide (up to 18.7‐fold) and the isoxazoline fluralaner (up to 6.3‐fold), indicating potential risk of cross‐resistance within IRAC Group 30. Synergism assays demonstrated that piperonyl butoxide enhanced the toxicity of broflanilide against the resistant strain of M. usitatus to some extent, whereas diethyl maleate and triphenyl phosphate had negligible effects, indicating possible role of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases in broflanilide resistance. We also identified a novel mutation of V332I in rdl gene among resistant populations. Genetic analysis showed that broflanilide resistance in the resistant strain is autosomal and incompletely dominant. CONCLUSIONS This study provides the first evidence of field‐evolved resistance to IRAC Group 30 insecticides, with extremely high resistance levels to broflanilide in M. usitatus . © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.