Research Article Find It @ Georgia Southern This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/ps.7620. Abstract Background Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and its transgenic crops are widely used as biological control agents for agricultural pests.