Safety Evaluation of Field Recommended Insecticides on European Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Under Laboratory Conditions

Abstract

A laboratory experiment was conducted to assess the safety of commonly used insecticides Viz., chlorpyriphos 20 EC, profenofos 50 EC, lambda cyhalothrin 5 EC, thiamethoxam 25 WG, acetamiprid 20 SP, Beauveria bassiana, neem oil and pongamia soap at their field recommended doses to the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, using the dry film method. The primary objective of the study was to identify comparatively safer insecticides for pollinators for inclusion in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs. Ten Foraging bees were released into the treated jars at different intervals i.e., 0, 12 and 24 h after dry film formation, with three replications for each treatment. Results revealed that Chlorpyriphos 20 EC, profenofos 50 EC, thiamethoxam 25 WG, acetamiprid 20 SP, lambda-cyhalothrin 5 EC and pongamia soap caused high mortality rates across different exposure intervals. In contrast, neem oil 1500 PPM exhibited low to moderate toxicity, while Beauveria bassiana was the least toxic to A. mellifera indicating its potential suitability for use in pollinator-friendly pest management programs.