Five insecticides (pyriproxifen, imidacloprid, deltamethrin + heptenophos, lambda-cyhalothrin and Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner subsp. tenebrionis) were examined in the laboratory for their acute detrimental side-effects at field rates on adult seven-spot ladybird beetle, Coccinella septempunctata L. The toxicity of the preparations was determined by measuring the acute surface contact effects (dried spray on leaves of Philadelphus coronarius L.), except for B. thuringiensis where mixed pollen was treated. Four to six concentrations were tested (pyriproxifen 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 mg AI litre(-1); imidacloprid 62.4, 125, 250, 500 mg AI litre(-1); deltamethrin + heptenophos 26.4, 53.1, 106.3, 212.5 mg AI litre(-1); lambda-cyhalothrin 1.1, 3.4, 10, 30 mg AI litre(-1); B. thuringiensis 1.5, 3.0, 12.0, 48, 192, 768 mg AI litre(-1)), with 22 adults exposed per concentration. All tests were conducted in the laboratory of the Plant Protection Department (University of Debrecen, Hungary) at 22-25 degrees C, 40-60% RH, under a 16:8 h light:dark photoperiod in 1998-1999. Data were analyzed by probit analysis, probit transformation and analysis of variance. According to different categories of evaluation, pyriproxifen, imidacloprid and B. thuringiensis subsp. tenebrionis seem to be safe for C. septempunctata adults but the other two preparations were moderately harmful to them, which requires further semi-field or field tests to measure their real effect under field conditions.