Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-29T11:56:33.649Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

OLFACTORY REPELLENCY OF HERBICIDES TO FORAGING HONEY BEES (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE)1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

R.H. Elliott
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1W5
D. Cmiralova
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1W5
W.G. Wellington
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1W5

Abstract

Foraging honey bees were offered various sucrose–herbicide solutions. Despite the visual attractiveness of the feeding dishes to foragers, six of seven herbicides significantly reduced the incidence of feeding and were judged to be olfactory and gustatory repellents. The most repellent herbicide was 2,4,5-T, which totally inhibited feeding at concentrations as tow as 1000 ppm. The next most repellent was 2,4-DB, followed by linuron, picloram, 2,4-D, and monuron. Paraquat was the only herbicide that did not exhibit marked repellency at concentrations up to 4000 ppm.

The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the impact of herbicide applications on honey bee foraging behaviour, brood development, pollination, and honey production.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1979

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, L.D. and Atkins, E.L. Jr. 1968. Pesticide usage in relation to beekeeping. A. Rev. Ent. 13: 213238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashton, F.M. and Crafts, A.S.. 1973. Mode of Action of Herbicides. Wiley-Interscience Publ., John Wiley and Sons, New York. 504 pp.Google Scholar
Atkins, E.L. Jr., Anderson, L.D., Kellum, K., and Neuman, K.W.. 1976. Protecting honey bees from pesticides. Univ. Calif. Publ. 2883. 14 pp.Google Scholar
Atkins, E.L., Kellum, D., and Atkins, K.W.. 1977. Repellent additives to reduce pesticide hazards to honey bees — Final report. Univ. Calif., pp. 4062.Google Scholar
Atkins, E.L., MacDonald, R.L., and Greywood-Hale, E.A.. 1975. Repellent additives to reduce pesticide hazards to honey bees: field tests. Environ. Ent. 4: 207210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Free, J.B. 1970. Effect of flower shapes and nectar guides on the behaviour of foraging honey bees. Behaviour 37: 269285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hocking, B. 1950. The honeybee and agricultural chemicals. Bee World 31: 4953.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moffett, J.O. and Morton, H.L.. 1971. Toxicity of airplane applications of 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, and a cotton desiccant to colonies of honey bees. Am. Bee J. 111: 382383.Google Scholar
Moffett, J.O., Morton, H.L., and MacDonald, R.H.. 1972. Toxicity of some herbicidal sprays to honey bees. J. econ. Ent. 65: 3236.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morton, H.L., Moffett, J.O., and MacDonald, R.H.. 1972. Toxicity of herbicides to newly emerged honey bees. Environ. Ent. 1: 102104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morton, H.L., Moffett, J.O., and Martin, R.D.. 1974. Influence of water treated artificially with herbicides on honey bee colonies. Environ. Ent. 3: 808812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muzik, T.J. 1970. Weed Biology and Control. McGraw-Hill, New York. 273 pp.Google Scholar
Palmer-Jones, T. 1960. Effect on honey bees of some chemical weedkillers. N.Z. J. agric. Res. 3: 485490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palmer-Jones, T. 1964. Effect on honey bees of 2,4-D. N.Z. J. agric. Res. 7: 339342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palmer-Jones, T. and Forster, I.W.. 1958. Effect on honey bees of some defoliants. N.Z. J. agric. Res. 1: 620626.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodrow, A.W., Green, N., Tucker, H., Schonhorst, M.H., and Hamilton, K.C.. 1965. Evaluation of chemicals as honey bee attractants and repellents. J. econ. Ent. 58: 10941102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar