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The Impact of Pesticides on Honey Bees and Hence on

Humans

Antonina Ri

ş

cu (Jivan), Marian Bura

Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Science and Biotechnologies, 119, Calea Aradului, 300645, Timisoara, Romania

Abstract

Bee crisis is threatening global food security, given the fact that one third of global agricultural production relies on pollination, especially that of honey bees. Despite their importance for human being, honey bees die with alarming speed. In recent years, in Europe and America, due to pollution, pesticides and neglect there was registered an unprecedented rate of disappearance of honey bees. Einstein's theory, the fact that once the bees cease to exist, humanity has only four years to extinction, seems now truer than ever. Thus, the issue has gained a tone of maximum urgency; the bee crisis can entirely shatter the world food security, already affected by the economic crisis. There are plenty of factors that could cause honey bee population decline: disease, parasites, climatic factors (high temperature, drought) or decrease in the diversity of honey flora. It may sometimes happen that the beekeeper himself causes the poisoning of his honey bees, use inappropriate products which should protect the honey bees. It is therefore possible to imagine a multi-factorial explanation of problems encountered by honey bees and to underestimate the key role of pesticides. Considering these, a review of the impact of pesticides on honey bees should not be superfluous.

Keywords: contamination, effects, honey bee, pesticides, pollination.

1. Introduction

Many radical changes took place in the 1950, shortly after the Second World War, when tractors replaced horses, chemical fertilizers replaced manure, the applying of pesticides using the aircraft became common, and farmers became aware of the cost of production. It was a time when humanity was not aware of the danger that pesticides brought, being satisfied to have eliminated agricultural diseases and pests. Thus, year by year, the usage of pesticides grew considerably. Perhaps the only ones who have suffered from the beginning due to agricultural modernization were honey bees and beekeepers respectively [1-3].

Honey bees’ life is strongly connected to flowers. The nurturing substances that bees need for

* Corresponding author: Antonina Rişcu (Jivan),

nica.riscu@yahoo.com

feeding themselves and their brood are collected from the flowers of melliferous plants. From some, bees collect nectar only (nectariferous plants), from others, pollen only (polleniferous plants) and from other plants both pollen and nectar [4].

Despite their importance for the human being, honey bees die with alarming speed. In recent years, in Europe and America because of pollution, pesticides and neglect led to an unprecedented rate of disappearance of honey bees [5-7].

2. The importance of bees in pollination

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bonuses, obtained from some of the most important entomophilous plants [8, 9].

The importance of bees lies not only in the production of honey, wax, propolis, royal jelly and venom, but also in the role that they have in the pollination of entomophilous crops. It was found that the growth in agricultural production, achieved by the pollinating bees, is 10 -15 times higher than the production of honey, wax, etc. [10].

Pollination of agricultural entomophilous crops by bees is an important agro-technical measure that contributes to a natural, clean and without any additional investment growth in the production of seeds, fruit and vegetables [8].

Supplementary pollination of the rapeseed is made by 1-2 beehives / hectare. The closer the hives are located to the bloomed field, the greater the pollination effect is and production increases [11].

3. Honey bee poisoning with pesticides

Most honey bee losses from 1966–1979 were attributable to organochlorine, carbamate, organophosphorus,and pyrethroid pesticide exposure [12]. Efforts to restrict pesticide application during bloom provided some relief; however, the residual activity of some pesticides was never effectively addressed [13].

The toxicity of the transported chemical product in the hive through pollen or nectar from cultures treated with pesticides is so striking that, over time, it can destroy the entire honey bee colony and even the wax moths attacking honeycombs removed from destroyed families, where deposited contaminated nectar reserves may be affected by the residual toxic effect of pesticides.

A honeycomb with such toxic stocks moved into a new, unintoxicated colony of honey bees, severely affects (even leading to death) a new family of bee brood [14].

Severe poisoning can completely destroy honey bee population or only reduce the number of individuals and weaken the family. This may enter the winter with a few number of honey bees and little food reserves, which may cause the death of colonies over the winter season [15].

The main conditions of exposure to pesticides are: - Exposure through ingestion (honey bees are exposed through food sources - nectar and pollen) contamination with food that is brought to the hive where it will be used by the entire colony. Food

can contaminate all castes: worker bees, drones and queens [16].

- Exposure through contact: may cross the honey bee’s tegument in flight during the application of chemical treatments or of those who come in contact with residues on treated plants [17]. - It is considered that honey bees can be poisoned in the air as well, during flight and in wet places by the water absorbed [8].

- Storage of collected nectar and pollen. The nectar can be used immediately. In contrast, the pollen requires fermentation for a week to be digestible for the honey bees. In addition, stored food will be consumed during periods outside the period of harvest, especially in winter. Thus, the harvested pollen in August can be consumed in March or even later, in April next year, so consumption may be delayed 7-8 months [17]. - Contamination in time with sub-lethal doses that can cause lethal chronic effects [18-20]. Considering the long flowering period and possible contamination of stored food, to be consumed, the actual time available for the contamination can be extended to long periods (in different ways, generally, sprays are rapidly degraded due to photolysis). If PPP is a neurotoxic, sub-lethal effects may be related to any behavioural pattern [18].

Insecticide toxicity is generally measured using acute contact toxicity values LD 50 – the exposure level that causes 50% of the population exposed to die. Toxicity thresholds are generally set at: - highly toxic (acute LD50 < 2 μg /honey bee); - moderately toxic (acute LD50: 2 - 10.99

μg/honey bee);

- slightly toxic (acute LD50: 11 - 100μg/honey bee);

- non-toxic (acute LD50 > 100μg/bee) to adult honey bees [21].

LD50 is an incomplete measure of toxicity to social insects like honey bees because it is a measure of individual toxicity, not colony toxicity. It does not account for the ways honey bee behaviour can mitigate or exacerbate effects of the pesticide on the colony [13].

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Table 1.Characteristics of pesticides commonly used in plant protection and their toxicity to honey bees [22]

Active substance (e.g. brand name)

Toxicity Residual activity

Time of application

Active substance (e.g. brand name)

Toxicity Residual

activity

Time of application

Insecticides Fungicides

Acephate

(Orthène) 3 days NF Azoxystrobin (Quadris)

Acetamiprid

(Assail) ANN

Boscalid (Lance) Carbaryl

(Sevin WP) 3-7 days NF

Captan

(Captan) NF

Chlorpyrifos

(Lorsban) 4-6 days NF

Chlorothalonil (Bravo) Clofentezine

(Apollo) ATT

Cymoxanil (Curzate) Cypermethrin

(Ripcord) 3 days NF

Fenamidone (Reason) Deltamethrin

(Decis) 4 hours ANN

Iprodione

(Roval) NF

Diazinon

(Diazinon) 2 days NF

Mancozeb

(Manzate) ATT

Dimethoate

(Cygon) 3 days NF

Myclobutanil

(Nova) ATT

Endosulfan

(Thiodan) <8 hours AN

Pyraclostrobine (Cabrio) Formetanate

(Carzol) <2hours ANN

Pyrimethanil (Scala) Imidacloprid

(Admire) <8 hours AN

Zineb (Zineb 8W) Lamda-cyhalothrin

(Matador) NF Zoxamide (Gavel)

Malathion

(Malathion) 2-5 days NF Herbicides

Methomyl

(Lannate) >1day NF

2,4 D

(ester) ATT

Permethrin

(Pounce) 1-2 days NF

2,4 D

(sodium salts) ATT

Phosalone

(Zolone) 2 hours ANN

2,4 D

(ammonium salts) ANN

Phosmet

(Imidan) 1-4 days NF

Clomazone (Commnad) Pyrimicarb

(Pirimor) <2 hours ANN Chlopyralid (Lontrel)

Pyridaben

(Pyramite) <2 hours ANN

Fluazifop-p-butyl

(Venture) ANN

Spinosad

(Entrust, Success) <2 hours ANN

Glyphosate

ATT

Thiacloprid

(Calypso) 10-14 days ANN

Linuron (Lorox) Tiamethoxam

(Actara) 7-14 days NF

Metribuzin (Sencor)

Acaricides

Paraquat (Gramaxone) Bifenazate

(Acramite) ANN

Trifluralin

(Treflan) ATT

Dicofol

(Kelthane) ATT

Spiromesifen

(Forbid) NF

Toxicity:

highly moderatel slightly

Time of applicatiom: NF-not to be applied on flowering plants AN- to be applied in the evening

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The damage extension at the honey bee colonies by applying pesticides is influenced not only by the toxicity of the material, number and methods of application, time of day, weather conditions, but also by the number of honey bees in the colony visiting flowers in the treated area, the type of nectar or pollen collected, type of food flowers collected, the season when the damage occurs and even the influence of food consumed by honey bees for the weeks after treatment [8].

4. The effects of pesticides on honey bees

Honey bees’ poisoning with pesticide may be: acute and chronic. In case of acute poisoning the toxic reactions are violent and occur unexpectedly, honey bees die from contact or ingestion of pesticides. Chronic poisoning are those in which toxicity is absorbed in small and repeated doses, reactions occur slowly, but continuously, they may involve the death of the entire family [23].

4.1. The sublethal effects

If the intoxication is sublethal and honey bees do find their way into the hive, they are surrounded by other honey bees that smell and touch them with their antennas, the sick ones eliminate the infected nectar and healthy honey bees feed them with clean honey. If they get well, the victim of the human collects nectar a few more days but it will have a much shorter life than honey bees that haven’t been intoxicated.

The sub-lethal effects of chemical ingredients on the honey bee behaviour and on other useful insects are reported by a large number of publications. For example, the sub-lethal doses of insecticides affect the movement of honey bees (Parathion), harvesting and transport of nectar (Diazon) flight guidance (Deltamethrin) [24, 18] observed at honey bees changes in the development, survival, fertility and queen capacity of laying eggs, the ability of honey bees to orient over short distances (using visual or olfactory memory,) the ability of honey bees to orient over long distances (orientation dependent on the sun and the associated memory to this capacity), feeding behaviour and ability to improve, the intensity of feeding, thermoregulation. Also, plant protection products (PPP) are likely to reduce the life of honey bees (essential parameter for the harvest), their immune capacity and other behaviours necessary to the integrity of the colony and good natural development of honey bees, such

as honey bee brood feeding, all behaviours leading to swarming, building combs and the balance between cells of drones and cells of worker honey bees, looking for a new nest during swarming and transferring of information to other initiating honey bees [25].

4.2. The synergistic effects

The use of tank mixes when applying agrochemicals is common agricultural practice and synergism may occur by design or by accident where different classes of pesticide are combined. However, many studies have investigated mixtures of pesticides unlikely to be encountered by wildlife or at unrealistic ratios of components [26, 27].

A laboratory test showed that a combination of: insecticide - fungicide (prochloraz-deltamethrin) can make a devastating honey bee insecticide, even if the dose used is 50 times lower than recommended. This synergy is observed, although attenuated even when the insecticide is applied, either before or after the treatment with fungicide [17].

Figure 1. The synergistic effects of the combination insecticide-fungicide: if deltamethrin (D) and prochloraz (P) are sprayed separately (I and II) where they are sprayed one after another (III and IV) where they are used together (V). Deltamethrin doses used 0.125 g / ha, prochloraz: 25 g / ha [28].

Colin and Belzunces [29] and Pilling and Jepson

[30]have shown synergism to occur with mixtures

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encountered by wildlife or at unrealistic ratios of components [26].

These circumstances demonstrate the importance and difficulty to perform an accurate assessment of protection chemical products of the pollinating entomofauna, and respectively of default systems plant protection products (PPP) [31].

5. The “filter” honey bee for pesticides in the environment

In a study conducted in Germany were studied pesticides applied to a culture of rapeseed in bloom that bees brought to the hive. It is about the insecticide Mavrik-flo (active substance tau-fluvalinate) used against the rapeseed shiny beetle and the fungicide Ronilan EG (active ingredient vinclozolin) used against the rapeseed white mould. 6 days after the treatment, the honey bees returning to the hive were caught, and the nectar collected from them was subjected to analysis in order to determine pesticide residues. In all samples submitted to analysis, residues were identified from to the two plant protection products used. The amount of pesticide determined in nectar ranged from 0.1-30mg / kg and the one determined in centrifuged honey ranged from 2-18 micrograms / kg (1000 times less than in nectar). This phenomenon is due to the filter effect exerted by honey bees [32].

Most pesticides are fat-soluble, so they can accumulate in wax in larger amounts than in honey. Studies have shown that the degree of contamination of bee products is as follows: propolis> wax> pollen> honey.

Studies conducted in Switzerland and other countries have shown that contamination of honey bee products is generally low, showing thus no health hazard to consumers. However, they may have implications for honey bees’ health. Honey bees seem to have a filter effect since honey is less contaminated. Pollen, wax and propolis, on the other hand, are containing higher concentrations of pollutants [32].

Claudianos et al., believes that honey bees have less detoxifying enzyme genes from other arthropods, having thus a lower detoxification capacity than most of the other species of insects. Relative to other insect genomes, the honey bee genome is markedly deficient in the number of genes encoding detoxification enzymes, including cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s),

glutathione-S-transferases, and carboxylesterases [33].

There are some insecticides that are derived from plants. These sources are: nicotine, quassin; veratrine; anabasine; rotenone; ryan; tephorosia; pyrethrins. The insecticide material made from these plants does not show large negative influence on pollinators [34].

Based on these considerations, methods of integrated pest management of crops should be used, avoiding the use of chemical products. A non-polluting and efficient pest control is the use of biologic products [35].

Conclusions

- Exposure of honey bees to pesticides is a continuous challenge because each year there are new pesticides coming out with new formula, one only being potentially devastating for bees.

- Pollination of agricultural crops by bees contributes to a natural, clean and without any additional investment growth in the production of seeds, fruit and vegetables. Insecticide treatments are not recommended in plantations and crops during flowering, but if this is indispensable, the application will be made under conditions which ensure the full protection of honey bees.

- If a single worker honey bee brings contaminated pollen into the hive it can disrupt the family’s life and cause the death of large numbers of honey bees.

- Beekeeping products generally have low contamination that doesn’t affect consumer’s health, however those who do suffer from pesticide poisoning are right the honey bees we need so much.

Acknowledgements

The publication of this paper was financially supported by the project POSDRU/CPP107/DMI1.5/S/80127 “Doctoral studies for training in research (FOR-CE)”.

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Figure

Table 1.Characteristics of pesticides commonly used in plant protection and their toxicity to honey bees [22]
Figure 1. The synergistic effects of the combination  insecticide-fungicide: if deltamethrin (D) and  prochloraz (P) are sprayed separately (I and II) where  they are sprayed one after another (III and IV) where  they are used together (V)

References

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