Schinus molle L. (Anacardiaceae) "pepper tree" is an ethnobotanical important plant belonging to Andean zone and is used as a botanical insecticidal agent for agricultural pest control. The ecotoxicological effects of aqueous extracts of the pepper tree on the following four nontarget organisms were evaluated: Ceraeochrysa cincta (Schneider) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) eggs and firstinstar larvae, Chrysoperla asoralis (Bank) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) eggs and firstinstar larvae, Telenomus remus Nixon (Scelionidae: Hymenoptera) adults, and Orius insidiosus Say (Anthocoridae: Hemiptera) adults. Five concentrations with increasing amounts of an aqueous extract from S. molle leaves (w/v) were employed: 1.5%, 2.5%, 5%, 10% and 20%. The parameters of acute toxicity employed were the lethal concentration (LC50) and the effective concentration (EC50). The following sequence in decresing order of ecotoxicity in terms of EC50/LC50 were found: C. cincta larval mortality (LC50 at 48 h = 3.7 %) > not hatched C. cincta eggs (EC50 = 5.1%) > O. insidiosus adults (LC50 at 48 h = 14.2%) > C. asoralis larval mortality (LC50 at 48 h = 32.2 %) > not hatched C. asoralis eggs (EC50 = 34.3%) > T. remus adults (LC50 a 48 h = 40.9%). Potential ecological risks of employing this botanical insecticide in Peruvian agroecosystems are discussed. A list of all eukaryotic species with toxicity and repellence of the pepper tree evaluated is included.
