Bean bugs found to harbor bacteria that keep them safe from an insecticide
(Phys.org) -- Conventional wisdom says that in order for a species of insect to develop resistance to an antibiotic, several generations have to pass, whereby genes from those that have some natural resistance pass them on to their offspring. But sometimes conventional wisdom fails to take into account how some bugs can find a work around. In this case, its the bean bug. Researchers in Japan have found that for Riptortus pedestris, the common bean bug, there is a much quicker path. All they have to do is ingest the Burkholderia bacteria. Doing so, the team says in their paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, makes them nearly impervious to the insecticide fenitrothion, which has historically been used to treat soy bean plants to protect them from the bugs that dine on them.