In agroecosystems, insects contend with chemical insecticides often encountered at sublethal concentrations. Insects’ exposure to these mild stresses may induce hormetic effects, which has consequences for managing insect pests. In this study, we used an electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique to investigate the feeding behavior and an age-stage, two-sex life table approach to estimate the sublethal effects of thiamethoxam on greenbug, Schizaphis graminum. The LC₅ and LC₁₀ of thiamethoxam significantly decreased longevity and fecundity of directly exposed adult aphids (F₀). However, the adult longevity, fecundity, and reproductive days (RP_d)—indicating the number of days in which the females produce offspring – in the progeny generation (F₁) exhibited significant increase when parental aphids (F₀) were treated with LC₅ of the active ingredient. Subsequently, key demographic parameters such as intrinsic rate of increase (r) and net reproductive rate (R₀) significantly increased at LC₅ treatment. EPG recordings showed that total durations of non-probing (Np), intercellular stylet pathway (C), and salivary secretion into the sieve element (E1) were significantly increased, while mean duration of probing (Pr) and total duration of phloem sap ingestion and concurrent salivation (E2) were decreased in F₀ adults exposed to LC₅ and LC₁₀. Interestingly, in the F₁ generation, total duration of Np was significantly decreased while total duration of E2 was increased in LC₅ treatment. Taken together, our results showed that an LC5 of thiamethoxam induces intergenerational hormetic effects on the demographic parameters and feeding behavior of F₁ individuals of S. graminum. These findings have important implications on chemical control against S. graminum and highlight the need for a deeper understanding of the ecological consequences of such exposures within pest management strategies across the agricultural landscapes.

在农业生态系统中，昆虫经常与亚致死浓度的化学杀虫剂进行斗争。昆虫暴露于这些温和的胁迫下可能会引起毒物兴奋效应，这会对害虫的防治产生影响。在这项研究中，我们使用电穿透图（EPG）技术来研究摄食行为，并使用年龄阶段、两性生命表方法来估计噻虫嗪对绿虫（Schizaphis graminum）的亚致死作用。噻虫嗪的LC ₅和 LC ₁₀显着降低了直接暴露的成年蚜虫的寿命和繁殖力（F ₀）。_{然而，当亲本蚜虫 (F 0} ) 用 LC 处理时，子代(F _{1 ) 中的成虫寿命、繁殖力和繁殖天数 (RP d} )（表示雌性产生后代的天数）显着增加₅活性成分。随后，关键的人口统计参数，如内在增长率 ( r ) 和净繁殖率 ( R _{0 ) 在 LC 5}处理后显着增加。EPG 记录显示，非探查 (Np)、细胞间探针途径 (C) 和唾液分泌到筛元件 (E1) 的总持续时间显着增加，而探查的平均持续时间 (Pr) 和韧皮部汁液摄入的总持续时间显着增加暴露于 LC ₅和 LC _{10的 F 0}成虫的同时流涎 (E2) 减少。有趣的是，在F _{1代中，LC 5}处理中Np 的总持续时间显着减少，而E2 的总持续时间增加。总而言之，我们的结果表明，噻虫嗪的 LC5 对禾谷镰刀菌F ₁个体的人口统计参数和摄食行为产生代际毒物兴奋效应。这些发现对禾谷链霉菌的化学防治具有重要意义，并强调需要更深入地了解农业景观害虫管理策略中此类暴露的生态后果。