Toxic and repellent effects of cypermethrin on the honeybee: Laboratory, glasshouse and field experiments

Abstract

Cypermethrin is highly toxic to the honeybee Apis mellifera ligustica. The action of the chemical is rapid (within 2 days) and it has no long‐term effects. The sensitivity of the bees increases with decrease in breeding temperature and with increasing age of the insect. The commercial formulation ‘QCymbush’ is repellent to bees: the effect appears to be due to the formulation ingredients because cypermethrin itself is not repellent. A floral odour lost its natural attractiveness in the presence of ‘Cymbush’. The repellency appears to persist for some 2 days after treatment, during which time the bees learnt to avoid the crop. No residues of cypermethrin were found in the hive products (pollen, wax or honey), nor in the oilseed rape at harvest.

Dynamics of pesticide residues in nectar and pollen of mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.) grown in Himachal Pradesh (India)

“…These results are in very much agreement with the observations of Fries and Wibran (1987), Dalabie et al (1988) and Waller et al (1988). The residues of Imidacloprid could neither be detected in nectar nor in pollen samples at 75th day after sowing of treated seeds (Tables 2, 3, 4 and 5).…”

Biological and Biochemical Effects of Chronic Exposure to Very Low Levels of Dietary Cypermethrin (Cymbush) on Honeybee Colonies (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

“…At 44 g/ha, residue concentrations were detected from the 6th to 8th day after treatment, and repulsion lasted until the 10th day (Fries and Wibran, 1986). In another experiment Delabie et al (1985a, b) con"rmed cypermethrin's repellent e!ect and estimated that the real dose emitted in the "eld (45;10 lower than the LD ) should not be able to induce any signi"cant repellency. In the present case where cypermethrin was used at 12 g/L no repellency was noticed, and all the cypermethrin-containing sucrose syrup was ingested by 24 h. At these levels of cypermethrin, which are not repulsive, the pyrethroid can e!ectively a!ect honeybee colonies after treatment with doses much lower than those allowed in agriculture (Haris and Turnubul, 1978).…”

“…Concerning metabolic perturbations, a decrease in ATP and total proteins was noticed in colonies treated with Cymbush. However, the variations in hemolymph carbohydrates were less signi"cant, due to the variability observed during the assay, even in control groups, certainly induced by the weekly sucrose feeding and the seasonal variations in honeybees' metabolism in the absence of any intoxication (Crailsheim, 1986;Kunert and Crailshem, 1988;Delabie et al, 1985a, b;Fries and Wibran, 1986;Davis and Shuel, 1988. Current results and those found in the literature demonstrate that cypermethrin used at doses much lower than the LD induce problems throughout the colony and the trophic chain.…”

“…For example, a number of pyrethroid insecticides reduce bee foraging activity in treated "elds (Atkins et al, 1981;Shires et al, 1984;Delabie et al, 1985a, b;Rieth and Levin, 1988), reduce brood areas (Johansen, 1977;Nation et al, 1986), and induce perturbations in dance communication and orientation of bees with respect to their hives (Cox and Wilson, 1984). The purpose of the studies described here was to evaluate the impact of cymbush (100 g a.i./L) added in sucrose syrup (0.5 kg/L) and fed at weekly intervals to honeybee colonies.…”

Sub‐lethal effects of deltamethrin residues on the within‐crop behaviour and distribution of Coccinella septempunctata

“…Coats et al, 1979;Tripathi et al, 1988;Wiles & Jepson, 1992) and in the field (eg. Such sub-lethal effects are well documented for the pyrethroid insecticides and examples include the repellent/irritant responses shown by aphids (Highwood, 1979;Rice et al, 1983;Lowery & Boiteau, 1988;Adams & Hall, 1990), mites (Iftner & Hall, 1983;Penman & Chapman, 1983;Berry et al, 1990) and honeybees (Delabie et al, 1985) and also antifeedant responses shown by Lepidoptera (Tan, 1981(Tan, , 1982 and Coleoptera (Hajjar & Ford, 1990). Such sub-lethal effects are well documented for the pyrethroid insecticides and examples include the repellent/irritant responses shown by aphids (Highwood, 1979;Rice et al, 1983;Lowery & Boiteau, 1988;Adams & Hall, 1990), mites (Iftner & Hall, 1983;Penman & Chapman, 1983;Berry et al, 1990) and honeybees (Delabie et al, 1985) and also antifeedant responses shown by Lepidoptera (Tan, 1981(Tan, , 1982 and Coleoptera (Hajjar & Ford, 1990).…”