AbstractBACKGROUND: Rice brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens Stål, is a primary insect pest of cultivated rice, and effective control is essential for economical crop production. Resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides, in particular imidacloprid, has been reported as an increasing constraint in recent years. In order to investigate the extent of resistance, 24 samples of N. lugens were collected from China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam during 2005 and 2006. Their responses to two diagnostic doses of imidacloprid (corresponding approximately to the LC95 and 5 × LC95 of a susceptible strain) were examined.RESULTS: Ten of the 12 samples collected during 2005 were found to be susceptible to imidacloprid, but two late‐season samples from India showed reduced mortality at both diagnostic doses. All 13 strains collected in 2006 showed reduced mortality at both doses when compared with the susceptible strain. Dose–response lines showed resistance in one of the most resistant field strains to be approximately 100‐fold compared with the susceptible standard.CONCLUSION: The data demonstrate the development and spread of neonicotinoid resistance in N. lugens in Asia and support reports of reduced field efficacy of imidacloprid. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry