Determination of the sublethal effects of pesticides on insects is a challenging topic because of the vast number of different possible end points. Sublethal effects can manifest themselves through changes in motor activity, behavior, or, in the case of social insects, learning ability. These are still the outcomes of physiological changes. As autonomic processes like respiration assure the normal functioning of any organism, the estimation of disturbances of these processes can give valuable data for toxicology researchers. This review reports a variety of effects of pesticides on insect respiratory patterns, metabolic rate, and water loss rate. Although the tested pesticides and target subjects belong to very different groups, the results of the reviewed studies indicate several common effects. We conclude that the study of the pesticide effects on insect respiratory physiology has potential for further development as a methodology for measurement of basic physiological changes as it allows measurement of the intact living insect, the result is obtained rapidly, and several parameters can be measured simultaneously. At the same time, the method has its shortcomings: the equipment is expensive and complicated, the results can be affected by the experimental conditions, and as yet there are no standardized end points for data comparison.

Botrytis cinereaPers.:Fr. is a major plant pathogen and a new approach is needed for its control in strawberry to minimise the increasing use of synthetic fungicides. The biofungicide Prestop-Mix, which containsGliocladium catenulatum, is effective againstBotrytisinfections; however, the need for frequent applications increases the costs for farmers. Here, we demonstrate that bumble bees,Bombus terrestrisL., effectively disseminate the preparation onto flowers in open field conditions. Over the course of three years, we found a highly significant decrease in the rate ofBotrytisinfection. Pathogen control was achieved with relatively low numbers ofG. catenulatumspores per flower, even using flowers that are not highly attractive to bumble bees. An even distribution of spores was detected up to 100 m from the hives, either due to primary inoculation by bumble bees or secondary distribution by other flower visitors such as honey bees and solitary bees. We showed that the application of a biocontrol agent by bumble bees is reliable for the use of environmentally friendly pest control strategies in northern climatic conditions. This low cost technology is especially relevant for organic farming. This study provides valuable information for introducing this method into practice in open strawberry fields.