Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata

Abstract Food web analysis was used to assess the short-term impact of genetically modified maize plants, Zea mays (Poaceae), expressing insecticidal proteins of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (i.e., Bt maize), on the associated arthropod assemblage in a neotropical scenario. Eighty-five arthropod species were sampled, and whereas cultivation season significantly affected arthropod species richness and abundance, only marginal differences existed between maize hybrids (Bt vs. non-Bt).