Oral acute toxicity and impact of neonicotinoids on Apis mellifera L. and Scaptotrigona postica Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Wild and managed bees are essential for crop pollination and food production. However, the widespread use of insecticides such as neonicotinoids may affect the survival, development, behavior, and maintenance of bee colonies. Therefore, in this study we evaluated the impacts of three neonicotinoid insecticides on the survival and walking abilities of the Africanized honeybee A. mellifera and stingless bee S. postica. A. mellifera was more susceptible than S. postica to all neonicotinoids tested. The median lethal concentrations LC50 values estimated for acetamiprid, imidacloprid, and thiacloprid were 189.62, 22.78, and 142.31 ng µL–1 of diet for A. mellifera, and 475.94, 89.11, and 218.21 ng µL–1 of diet for S. postica, respectively. All tested neonicotinoids affected the speed, distance traveled, duration and frequency of resting, and continuous mobility of both bee species. The results showed that in spite of the different susceptibility to compounds with cyano and nitro radicals, the behavioral variables showed different levels of commitment according to the molecule insecticide and bee species. These results contribute not only to the understanding of the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on A. mellifera and S. postica, but also to help in the development of protocols that aim to reduce the impact of these insecticides in Neotropical environments.