Insecticide resistance is a serious economic problem that jeopardizes sustainability of chemical control of herbivorous insects and related arthropods. It can be viewed as a specific case of adaptation to toxic chemicals, which has been driven in large part, but not exclusively, by the necessity for insect pests to tolerate defensive compounds produced by their host plants. Synthetic insecticides may simply change expression of specific sets of detoxification genes that have evolved due to ancestral associations with host plants. Feeding on host plants with more abundant or novel secondary metabolites has even been shown to prime insect herbivores to tolerate pesticides. Clear understanding of basic evolutionary processes is important for achieving lasting success in managing herbivorous arthropods.

抗杀虫剂是一个严重的经济问题，危害了草食性昆虫和相关节肢动物化学控制的可持续性。可以将其视为适应有毒化学物质的具体案例，这在很大程度上但并非唯一地是由于害虫必须耐受其寄主植物产生的防御性化合物所致。合成杀虫剂可以简单地改变由于与祖先植物的祖先关联而进化的特定解毒基因组的表达。甚至已经证明，以宿主植物为食，富含更多或新颖的次生代谢产物可引发昆虫食草动物耐受农药。对基本的进化过程的清楚了解对于在食草节肢动物的管理中取得持久成功至关重要。