Nguyen B K, Saegerman C, Pirard C, Mignon J, Widart J, Thirionet B, Verheggen F J, Berkvens D, De Pauw E, Haubruge E
Department of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, FUSAGx, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium.
J Econ Entomol. 2009 Apr;102(2):616-23. doi: 10.1603/029.102.0220.
Beekeepers suspected maize, Zea mays L., treated with imidacloprid to result in substantial loss of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies in Belgium. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential impact of maize grown from imidacloprid-treated seeds on honey bee mortality. A survey of 16 apiaries was carried out, and all maize fields treated or not with imidacloprid were located within a radius of 3,000 m around the observed apiaries. Samples of honey, beeswax, and bees were collected in three colonies per apiary and analyzed for pesticide contain by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We first found a significant correlation between the number of colonies per apiary and the mortality rates in an apiary. In addition, this mortality rate was inversely correlated with the surface of maize fields treated and not with imidacloprid, suggesting that this pesticide do not interact with bees' fitness. Moreover, a very large number of our samples contained acaricides either prohibited or ineffective against Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman) (Acari: Varroidae), suggesting that the treatment methods used by the beekeepers to be inadequate for mite control. Our results support the hypothesis that imidacloprid seed-treated maize has no negative impact on honey bees.
养蜂人怀疑，在比利时，用吡虫啉处理过的玉米（Zea mays L.）导致了大量蜜蜂（膜翅目：蜜蜂科）蜂群的损失。本研究的目的是调查用吡虫啉处理过的种子种植的玉米对蜜蜂死亡率的潜在影响。对16个养蜂场进行了调查，所有用或未用吡虫啉处理过的玉米田都位于观察到的养蜂场周围3000米半径范围内。每个养蜂场从三个蜂群中采集蜂蜜、蜂蜡和蜜蜂样本，并用液相色谱 - 串联质谱法和气相色谱 - 串联质谱法分析农药含量。我们首先发现每个养蜂场的蜂群数量与该养蜂场的死亡率之间存在显著相关性。此外，这种死亡率与用吡虫啉处理过的玉米田面积呈负相关，而与未用吡虫啉处理的玉米田面积无关，这表明这种农药与蜜蜂的健康状况没有相互作用。此外，我们的大量样本中含有对狄斯瓦螨（Anderson & Trueman）（蜱螨目：瓦螨科）禁用或无效的杀螨剂，这表明养蜂人使用的处理方法不足以控制螨虫。我们的结果支持了这样的假设，即吡虫啉种子处理过的玉米对蜜蜂没有负面影响。
