CSIRO Health & Biosecurity, Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre, Winnellie, Northwest Territories, Australia.
Aerospread Technologies Limited, Napier, New Zealand.
Pest Manag Sci. 2022 Dec;78(12):5213-5219. doi: 10.1002/ps.7140. Epub 2022 Sep 26.
Hydrogels are a new bait form, and multiple studies have found minimal potential or actual nontarget impacts associated with their use. However, in 2020, aerial applications of hydrogels containing fipronil unequivocally resulted in honey bee deaths. Here we detail four studies that then were conducted to determine how the bees were exposed to the active constituent and how to modify the aerial treatment protocols to eliminate the risk to bees.
The first trial confirmed the existence of fipronil in aerosol form. The second trial quantified that in specific wind conditions the aerosols were falling to the ground at a maximum distance determined by an approximate 30° angle from the ground to the dispersal point, and that free-falling hydrogels either do not produce aerosols or, if so, at volumes too negligible to be collected or quantified. The third trial confirmed that even bee hives upwind and several hundreds of metres away from the area being baited can be contaminated by the aerosols. The fourth trial found no bee hive mortality as a result of either free-falling bait or moving bee hives 500 m beyond the treatment area.
The aerosol issue is likely to occur with every motorized mechanism dispersing hydrogels. It is possible that the same issue happens with solid dry products if they produce a fine dust when propelled during dispersal. Further research into this issue is warranted. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
水凝胶是一种新型诱饵形式，多项研究发现，与使用水凝胶相关的非目标影响极小或实际不存在。然而，在 2020 年，含有氟虫腈的水凝胶的空中应用明确导致了蜜蜂死亡。在这里，我们详细介绍了随后进行的四项研究，以确定蜜蜂是如何接触到有效成分的，以及如何修改空中处理方案以消除对蜜蜂的风险。
第一项试验证实了气溶胶形式存在氟虫腈。第二项试验量化了在特定风向条件下，气溶胶以近似 30°角从地面到分散点的最大距离下降到地面，并且自由下落的水凝胶要么不产生气溶胶，要么如果产生，则体积太小，无法收集或量化。第三项试验证实，即使是上风处且距离诱饵区域数百米远的蜂箱也可能被气溶胶污染。第四项试验发现，无论是自由下落的诱饵还是将蜂箱移动到处理区域 500 米以外，都不会导致蜂箱死亡。
气溶胶问题可能会出现在每一种机动机制分散水凝胶的情况下。如果固体干燥产品在分散过程中推进时产生细尘，也可能会出现同样的问题。需要对此问题进行进一步研究。© 2022 作者。Pest Management Science 由 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 代表化学工业协会出版。
