Quantitation of neonicotinoid insecticide residues in experimentally poisoned honey bees
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5073/jka.2012.437.037Abstract
Background: In cases of poisoning incidents, the standard procedures consider the sampling of dead honeybees to define the active ingredients (a.i.) involved and to determine if the quantity of the residue present can be considered responsible of the death. However one should verify the loss of residues in the period from the discovery of the dead honeybees to their analysis. Since honey bee mortalities due to neonicotinoid insecticides have been recently reported, thiametoxam, clothianidin, imidacloprid residues were determined in experimentally poisoned honey bees.
Results: Oral and indirect contact trials were carried out for each pesticide, using commercial formulations. Honey bees that died during the trials were stored at -18 °C and analyzed through a LCMS/ MS analytical procedure adapted from AOAC methods. The quantity of insecticide residues that were detected resulted much lower than the administered residues. Honey bees that did not die within six hours from the trial start were also analyzed and the quantities of insecticide residues resulted much lower than those found in the dead honey bees.
Conclusion: On the basis of these results, the determination of the Subsequent Residue Level or of a similar index should be required during the normal procedures of authorization for the use of pesticides.
Keywords: poisoning incidents, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiametoxam
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attributed 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially
Under the following terms:
-
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits