Current status of a ring-tested method to determine pesticide effects on the predatory mite Typhlodromus pyri (Scheuten) (Acarina: Phytoseiidae) in the laboratory

For the authorization of plant protection products in the European Union under Directive 91 /414/EEC, data about the effect of pesticides on non-target arthropods are required. As a consequence of the recommendations of the Workshop on ‘European Standard Characteristics of Beneficials Regulatory Testing’ in 1994 (Barrett et al., 1994) the Typhlodromus pyri test group (consisting of 11 laboratories) was established as one of the 13 testing groups, or rings, to develop standardized methods for the evaluation of pesticide effects on different non-target arthropod key species.