Avoidance Behavior of Honey bee, Apis mellifera from Commonly used Fungicides, Acaricides and Insecticides in Apple Orchards

Abstract

Avoidance behavior is an important life history strategy to survive hazardous environment. The experiment was conducted to detect the avoidance tendency of the honeybee Apis mellifera against commonly used pesticides in apple production. Choice test given only 50% sucrose solution and pesticide-mixed sucrose solution as food estimated the avoidance in laboratory. Most of the acaricides and fungicides tested were shown avoided. Among insecticides, honeybee showed strong avoidance to cyhexatine, carbosulfan and fenpyroximate but low to diflubenzuron, tebufenpyrad, and acrinathrin. Avoidance behavior to neonicotinoid insecticides showed bifurcated; highly avoided from thiacloprid, acetamiprid while less avoided from imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and dinotefuran. From the field study, abamectin, fenthion, amitraz and acequinocyl showed highly avoided while fungicide of fenarimol, acaricides of acrinathrin and phosphamidon, IGR insecticide of diflubenzuron, neonicotinoid insecticide of imidacloprid, and carbamate insecticide of carbaryl showed less avoidance in the field. These results partly explained high bee poisoning from carbaryl in apple flowering period, and neonicotinoids during season.

Keywords

• Apis mellifera L.;
• Avoidance tendency;
• Pesticide;
• Selection index