Total dependence on broad spectrum insecticides led to nerve insensitivity resistance in Helicoverpa armigera and, eventually, to the collapse of the previously successful cotton industry at Kununurra in 1974. The final year of production saw an average of 40 insecticide sprays per crop, at which stage the industry was no longer economically or ecologically sustainable (Michael & Woods, 1980). New research commenced in 1994 to evaluate the potential for successfully reintroducing cotton to the Kimberley, but within a biologically sustainable framework. The new approach aims to develop pest management security for a future industry by minimising the impact of pest species, minimising pesticide inputs and enhancing the benefits of naturally occurring predators and parasitoids. Key features of the new strategy include winter cropping, the use of transgenic varieties, resistance management policy and an integrated pest management (IPM) production philosophy (Strickland and Constable, 1995). The preliminary studies reported here were based on conventional cotton varieties due to the unavailability of transgenic types. However, in 1995, additional observations were made on the insect fauna in a transgenic cotton crop grown for seed production on behalf of Cotton Seed Distributors by Mr T Sass-Nielsen. The aim of the studies was to obtain basic data on insect abundance and impact on yield for contemporary cotton varieties grown during the winter months at Kununurra. The intention was use this data as the basis for developing more detailed research on IPM systems, with transgenic varieties, when they became available from 1996 onwards.