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Methyl Parathion Modifies Foraging Behaviour in Honeybees (Apis mellifera)

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Abstract

We examined the effects of sublethal doses of an organophosphorus insecticide, Methyl Parathion (MeP), on the foraging behaviour of honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica) in a flight cage. The results revealed that MeP modified the frequency of visits to a feeding station to which the bees had previously been trained. A dose of 50 ng per animal elicited an increase in the frequency of visits to the feeder, compared to control animals. A dose of 10 ng, on the other hand, led initially to a decrease in the visit frequency, followed by an increase to a level above that of the controls. A hypothesis is presented to account for the way in which MeP affects foraging behaviour. We propose that the behavioural assay presented here could be useful as a preliminary screening test to study sublethal effects of pesticides on foraging performance in honeybees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, P.O. Box 475, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    David Guez, Shao-Wu Zhang & Mandyam V. Srinivasan

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  1. David Guez
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  2. Shao-Wu Zhang
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  3. Mandyam V. Srinivasan
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Correspondence to David Guez.

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Guez, D., Zhang, SW. & Srinivasan, M.V. Methyl Parathion Modifies Foraging Behaviour in Honeybees (Apis mellifera). Ecotoxicology 14, 431–437 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-004-1348-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-004-1348-3

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