Acute toxicity tests were performed on Crenitis spp (Coleoptera; Hydrophilidae) using two herbicides, atrazine and diuron in the laboratory. The experiment was to investigate the effect of high doses of these pollutants in individually and together for 12 h each on Crenitis spp a species that abounds during the dry period in the shallow hydro-agricultural waters reservoirs of the Volta Basin. Individual macroinvertebrates were collected from puddle areas of the shoreline of Bama Reservoir in the Volta basin. The dry period is the period of rest for agricultural activities at the reservoir. Tests have shown that the toxic effects of the two herbicides on the species of beetles can be enhanced when the both products act synergistically. For diuron, the effective concentration that immobilizes 50% (EC50) of the insects is 44.96 g/l only, but drops to 11.72 g/l in the mixture; while in the same order, atrazine shows 11.75 g/l only and then drops to 7.33 g/l in synergy. It is concluded from this study that works on ecotoxicology should consider the additive or synergistic effects of herbicides to define the bio-ecological traits of macroinvertebrate species living in frequently polluted hydro-agricultural systems
