Poisoning of Apis mellifera bees with neonicotinoids and glyphosate

Abstract

In the summer of 2019, in many regions of the Russian Federation, there was a high death rate of honey bee families in apiaries after treating rapeseed and other fields with pesticides during flowering. The purpose of our research: to study the effect of neonicotinoids and glyphosate contained in pesticides and herbicides on Apis mellifera honey bees in laboratory conditions, to study the clinical picture of poisoning. As a result of the study, it was revealed that imidacloprid and thiacloprid have a fumigant effect from the treated surfaces for 7 days. In addition, the accumulation and death of bees from small doses can be observed on the 9th day and later. The effect of glyphosate-containing preparations on bees in laboratory conditions revealed 100% death of bees when consumed with feed. The death of bees after consuming sugar syrup with the drug, even from small doses, occurred after 15 minutes, and in the fumigation test, no death was found with prolonged exposure of the drug near bees.