One concern about the use of transgenic plants is their potential risk to natural enemies. In this study, using the eggs of the rice brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, as a food source, we investigated the effects of Cry1Ab rice on the biological characteristics and functional response of an important predator Cyrtorhinus lividipennis. The results showed that the survival ability (adult emergence rate and egg hatching rate), development (egg duration, nymphal developmental duration), adult fresh weight, adult longevity and fecundity of C. lividipennis on Bt rice plants were not significantly different compared to those on non-Bt rice plants. Furthermore, two important parameters of functional response (instantaneous search rate and handling time) were not significantly affected by Bt rice. In conclusion, the tested Cry1Ab rice does not adversely impact the biological character and functional response of C. lividipennis.

Numerous Bt rice lines expressing Cry protein derived from Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) have been developed since 1989. However, the potential risks posed by Bt rice on non-target organisms still remain debate. The white-backed planthopper (WBPH), Sogatella furcifera (Horváth), is one of the most economically important insect pests of rice in Asian countries and also one of the main non-target herbivores of transgenic rice. In the current study, impacts of transgenic cry1Ab/vip3H+epsps rice (G6H1) with both insect and herbicide resistance on WBPH were evaluated to ascertain whether this transgenic rice line had potential risks for this sap-sucking pest under laboratory and field conditions. The laboratory results showed that no significant difference in egg developmental duration, nymphal survival rate and female fecundity was found for WBPH between G6H1 and its non-transgenic isoline (XS110). However, the development duration of nymphs was significantly shorter and female longevity significantly longer when WBPH fed on G6H1 by comparison with those on its control. To verify the results found in laboratory, a 3-yr field trial was conducted to monitor WBPH population using both the vacuum-suction machine and beat plate methods. Although the seasonal density of WBPH nymphs and total density of nymphs and adults were not significantly affected by transgenic rice regardless of the sampling methods, the seasonal density of WBPH adults in transgenic rice plots was slightly lower than that in the control when using the vacuum-suction machine. Based on these results both from laboratory and field, it is clear that our tested transgenic rice line will not lead higher population of WBPH. However, long-term field experiments to monitor the population dynamics of WPBH at large scale need to be conducted to confirm the present conclusions in future.