Abstract
Mutations that confer resistance to insecticides are well documented. However, so far, we have been unable to determine whether these mutations arose before or after the introduction of insecticides. Recently, a landmark study showed that resistance to Malathion can be detected in pinned specimens of Australian sheep blowflies that were collected before the introduction of the insecticide. This finding has numerous implications for our understanding of the prevalence of resistance to new compounds. It also indicates that pre-existing resistance alleles might not carry the fitness cost that is associated with new mutations.
