Effects on Detoxification Enzymes in Different Life Stages of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L., Hymenoptera: Apidae) Treated with a Synthetic Pyrethroid (Flumethrin)

Abstract

The activities of two detoxification enzymes, glutathione S-transferase (GST) with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) as substrate, and glutathione peroxidase with tert-butyl hydroperoxide as substrate (GSH-Px[TBH]), were measured in the larvae, pupae and adults of honey bees (Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola) originating from two colonies, one untreated acting as a control group and the other treated with flumethrin. The treatment with flumethrin led to increased GST activity in the larval instars, pupae and nurse bees compared with the control group. In particular, the late fifth larval instars (LS) and the pupal instars showed increased GST activities. GSH-Px[TBH] activities were highest in the early larval instars (L1–L2). Treatment with flumethrin resulted in the induction of GSH-Px[TBH] activity in the L4–L5 instars and LS. In the forager bees, the enzyme activity was lower in the group treated with flumethrin than in the control group. This could have been due to unknown extrinsic environmental factors. In general, the average protein contents were lower in the flumethrin-treated group than in the control group. In the LS and pupal stage, and in the adult worker bees, the differences were significantly lower. This inhibition of growth could be due to metabolic costs resulting from exposure to toxicants.

Exposure of larvae to thiamethoxam affects the survival and physiology of the honey bee at post-embryonic stages

“…Since there is a high amount of this enzyme in the pupae phase, its increase following exposure to thiamethoxam should be a rapid physiological protective response. Nielsen et al (2000) evaluated the effect of flumethrin on Apis mellifera lingustica Spinola, and also observed an increase of GST in larvae, pupae and nurse bees, which is more notable in larvae and pupae. This demonstrates the importance of GST in detoxification during the pupal phase and suggests that its activity may be very important in the metabolization of insecticides during this phase.…”

Enzymatic biomarkers as tools to assess environmental quality: A case study of exposure of the honeybee Apis mellifera to insecticides

“…Nevertheless, some studies show that the specific activity of GST may be modulated by pesticides. For example, Yu et al , Nielsen et al , and Papadopoulos et al observed increased GST–specific activity in honeybees poisoned with permethrin, deltamethrin, and flumethrin. The difference observed between tissue and specific activities is explained by the fact that these insecticides do not affect GST activity but do decrease protein content, at least in the studied tissue.…”

Effects of neonicotinoids and fipronil on non-target invertebrates

“…Exposure to imidacloprid, clothianidin and fipronil can lead to reductions in the proportion of active bees in the hive and, furthermore, initiate behaviours that can reduce the efficiency of foraging flights. For example, exposed individuals may spend longer periods of time at a food source, decrease the frequency of visits, increase the time between foraging trips, engage in longer foraging flights, reduce foraging distances, exhibit problems revisiting the same feeding site or exhibit reductions in visual learning capacities (Nielsen et al 2000 ; Morandin and Winston 2003 ; Colin et al 2004 ; Ramirez-Romero et al 2005 ; Yang et al 2008 ; Han et al 2010 ; Schneider et al 2012 ; Teeters et al 2012 ). Fischer et al ( 2014 ) exposed adult honeybees to sublethal doses of imidacloprid (7.5 and 11.25 ng/bee), clothianidin (2.5 ng/bee) and thiacloprid (1.25 μg/bee) and subsequently tracked the flight paths of individual bees with harmonic radar.…”