Ko Chong-Yu, Nai Yu-Shin, Lo Wei, Chen Chun-Ting, Chen Yue-Wen
Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science, National Ilan University, Yilan City 260, Taiwan.
Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung City 402, Taiwan.
Insects. 2022 Mar 10;13(3):273. doi: 10.3390/insects13030273.
Fluvalinate is a widely used insecticide for varroa mite control in apiculture. While most beekeepers have ignored the effects of low levels of fluvalinate on bees, this study aims to demonstrate its effects at very low concentrations. We first used fluvalinate doses ranging from 0.4 to 400 ng/larva to monitor the capping, pupation, and emergence rates of larval bees. Second, we used the honey bees' proboscis extension reflex reaction to test the learning ability of adult bees that were exposed to fluvalinate doses from 0.004 to 4 ng/larva in the larval stage. The brood-capped rate of larvae decreased dramatically when the dose was increased to 40 ng/larva. Although no significant effect was observed on brood-capping, pupation, and eclosion rates with a dose of 4 ng/larva, we found that the olfactory associative behavior of adult bees was impaired when they were treated with sublethal doses from 0.004 to 4 ng/larva in the larval stage. These findings suggest that a sublethal dose of fluvalinate given to larvae affects the subsequent associative ability of adult honey bee workers. Thus, a very low dose may affect the survival conditions of the entire colony.
氟氯苯氰菊酯是养蜂业中广泛用于防治蜂螨的杀虫剂。虽然大多数养蜂人忽视了低水平氟氯苯氰菊酯对蜜蜂的影响，但本研究旨在证明其在极低浓度下的影响。我们首先使用0.4至400纳克/幼虫的氟氯苯氰菊酯剂量来监测幼虫蜜蜂的封盖、化蛹和羽化率。其次，我们利用蜜蜂的喙伸展反射反应来测试在幼虫阶段接触0.004至4纳克/幼虫氟氯苯氰菊酯剂量的成年蜜蜂的学习能力。当剂量增加到40纳克/幼虫时，幼虫的封盖率显著下降。虽然在4纳克/幼虫的剂量下未观察到对封盖、化蛹和羽化率有显著影响，但我们发现，在幼虫阶段用0.004至4纳克/幼虫的亚致死剂量处理成年蜜蜂时，其嗅觉联想行为会受到损害。这些发现表明，给幼虫施用亚致死剂量的氟氯苯氰菊酯会影响成年工蜂随后的联想能力。因此，极低剂量可能会影响整个蜂群的生存状况。
