The Acute Oral Toxicity of Commonly Used Pesticides in Iran, to Honeybees (Apis Mellifera Meda)

The honey bee is credited with approximately 85% of the pollinating activity necessary to supply about one-third of the world’s food supply. Well over 50 major crops depend on these insects for pollination. The crops produce more abundantly when honey bees are plentiful. Worker bees are the ones primarily affected by pesticides. Poisoning symptoms can vary depending on the developmental stage of the individual bee, and the kind of chemical employed. The oral toxicity of these insecticides: (phosalone and pirimicarb), acaricide (propargite), insecticide and acaricide (fenpropathrin), fungicides, and bactericides (copper oxychloride and the Bordeaux mixture), were evaluated for the purposes of this research. The results showed that fenpropathrin had high acute oral toxicity (LC₅₀-24h and LC₅₀-48 were 0.54 and 0.3 ppm, respectively). Propargite had 7785 ppm (active ingredient) for LC50-24h and 6736 ppm (active ingredient) for LC50-48h in honeybees and is therefore, non-toxic to Apis mellifera. On the other hand, copper oxychloride had minimum acute oral toxicity to honeybees (LC₅₀-24h and LC₅₀-48 were 4591.5 and 5407.9 ppm, respectively) and was therefore considered non-toxic. Also, the Bordeaux mixture was safe to use around honeybees. Phosalone and primicarb were considered highly and moderately toxic to honeybees, respectively.