St Amant Julia, Bisiau Amber, Jack Cameron
Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Insects. 2024 Jun 25;15(7):472. doi: 10.3390/insects15070472.
Beekeepers need new treatment options for controlling small hive beetles (), a devastating honey bee () pest. For many years, commercial beekeepers in the U.S. have used gel roach baits off-label as a method for treating SHBs. Herein, we evaluated the acute toxicity of active ingredients commonly found in gel roach baits, including abamectin, clothianidin, hydramethylnon, fipronil, and indoxacarb through topical and oral routes of exposure against SHBs and honey bees. Additionally, coumaphos, the active ingredient of the only registered in-hive control treatment for SHBs, was evaluated to provide a comparison to the gel roach bait active ingredients. Fipronil was the most toxic compound to SHBs topically (LD = 0.23 ng/SHB) and through pollen (LC = 0.06 µg/g pollen). Fipronil (LD = 0.31 ng/honey bee) had a selectivity ratio of 1.3, suggesting that it is more toxic to SHBs than it is to honey bees, but only to a small degree. Abamectin, clothianidin, hydramethylnon, and indoxacarb had a higher toxicity to honey bees than to SHBs through topical exposure. Our results suggest that gel roach baits and their active ingredients are toxic to honey bees and pose a serious risk to colony safety if used as in-hive treatments.
养蜂人需要新的防治方法来控制小蜂螨，这是一种对蜜蜂具有毁灭性危害的害虫。多年来，美国的商业养蜂人一直将凝胶蟑螂诱饵超说明书使用，作为治疗小蜂螨的一种方法。在此，我们通过局部和口服暴露途径，评估了凝胶蟑螂诱饵中常见的活性成分（包括阿维菌素、噻虫胺、氟蚁腙、氟虫腈和茚虫威）对小蜂螨和蜜蜂的急性毒性。此外，还评估了唯一登记用于蜂巢内防治小蜂螨的药剂的活性成分蝇毒磷，以便与凝胶蟑螂诱饵的活性成分进行比较。氟虫腈是对小蜂螨局部毒性最大的化合物（半数致死剂量=0.23纳克/只小蜂螨），通过花粉的半数致死浓度为0.06微克/克花粉。氟虫腈（半数致死剂量=0.31纳克/只蜜蜂）的选择性比率为1.3，表明它对小蜂螨的毒性比对蜜蜂的毒性更大，但程度较小。通过局部暴露，阿维菌素、噻虫胺、氟蚁腙和茚虫威对蜜蜂的毒性比对小蜂螨的毒性更大。我们的结果表明，凝胶蟑螂诱饵及其活性成分对蜜蜂有毒，如果用作蜂巢内处理，会对蜂群安全构成严重风险。
