The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) is a serious agricultural pest which has evolved resistance against many chemical classes of insecticides. This species has evolved resistance to the synthetic pyrethroids across its native range and is becoming a truly global pest, after establishing in Brazil and having been recently recorded in North America. A chimeric cytochrome P450 gene, CYP337B3, has been shown to detoxify to fenvalerate and cypermethrin. The CYP337B3 gene has now been detected in different populations around the world, and is even found in South America. This gene is likely to have arisen independently in different geographic locations, probably through selection on pre-existing diversity, and there is ongoing movement of these alleles around the world. The alleles found in Brazil are those most commonly found in Asia, suggesting a potential origin for the incursion into the Americas. This information should be taken into account when devising control strategies for this invasive pest, both in its native range and in the Americas

Insecticidal crystal toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) kill insects via a complex mode of action resulting in the creation of cytolytic pores in the membrane of midgut epithelial cells. These toxins are expressed in transgenic cotton and maize which have been adopted worldwide to control lepidopteran pests while reducing dependence on chemical insecticides. However, insect resistance to Bt toxins is increasing in certain key pest species. Beginning with Heliothis virescens, genetic studies in Bt-resistant Lepidoptera and Coleoptera have found mutations in ABC transporters. Cry1A, Cry1C, Cry2A, and Cry3B toxins each appear to target a different member of the ABC superfamily. These studies confirm the essential role of ABC proteins in Bt toxin mode of action. It is proposed that ABC proteins assist in the insertion of the toxin into the midgut epithelial membrane, a crucial step for which the mechanism has not been known in detail. Properties of ABC transporters suggest strategies to increase efficacy of Bt toxins and to delay the evolution of Bt toxin resistance in target insect pests.