Non-Apis bees

Tasei JN (2002) Impact of agrochemicals on non -Apis bees. In Devilliers J, Pham-Delegue M-H (eds) Honey bees estimating the environmental impact of chemicals. Taylor and Francis, New York... 

Hefetz, A. (1998). Exocrine glands and their products in non-Apis bees chemical, functional and evolutionary perspective. In Pheromone Communication in Social Insects. Ants, Wasps, Bees and Termites, ed. R. K. Vander Meer, M. D. Breed, K. E. Espelie and M.L. Winston. New York Westview Press, pp. 236-256. 

Many wild and cultivated plants are visited not only by honey bees (Apis mellifera in particular) but also by non-Apis bees which facilitate their fruit and seed setting. These Hymenoptera are represented by more than 20000 species throughout the world, belonging to nine families Colletidae, Oxaeidae, Halictidae, Andrenidae, Melittidae, Fideliidae, Megachilidae, Anthophoridae, and Apidae [1]. This fauna is a natural resource which often sustains a prominent role in the pollination of crops and the maintenance of floral diversity, especially when honey bees are absent or not efficient. Many researchers have long emphasized the contribution of... 

If we consider that insecticide repellency, mentioned in early studies, is not a typically sublethal effect, the hrst report of a consequence of low doses of insecticide on non-Apis bees appeared in 1981 [23]. The authors, comparing two pyrethroids and organophosphates on the leafcutting bee in laboratory tests, found that a high percentage of comatose bees recovered. This was observed only with the pyrethroids fenvalerate and decamethrin (deltamethrin) which caused a strong knock-down effect within the hrst hour after application. 

The first test of an insect growth regulator (IGR) on a non-Apis bee was presented during a symposium in 1993 [25], The authors observed adult mortality and brood development in bumble bee colonies B. ter-restris) maintained in cages. Forage plants were treated during activity hours with the IGR fenoxycarb. It was concluded that the IGR did not present a negative action on adult bumble bees but that a larval test had to be developed for an adequate assessment of the brood mortality. 

The third kind of assessment was hazard testing conducted in the field either by using domesticated non-Apis bees maintained in artificial domiciles or by monitoring native populations in their natural habitat. The drawback of these methods is that standardization is not possible since the exposure of experimental insects to test compounds is not controlled. In the case of native population monitoring, the main difficulty is the interpretation of data due to the number of factors involved in population changes during seasons and years. 

Comparative toxicity and hazards of pesticides to non-Apis bees... 

Table 7.1 Acute toxicity of pesticides to four non-Apis bee species and honey bees (topical LD50 (jxg/bee))... 

Table 7.3 Oral toxicity of insecticides to three non-Apis bees and honey bees (oral LDso (fig/bee))...

Susceptibility of non-Apis bees to field applications of pesticides... 

Because of difficulties in determining the loss of bees in the native non-Apis bee population, the impact of agrochemicals on native pollinators... 

Very few authors have investigated the sublethal effects of pesticides on non-Apis bees. Reported studies deal with repellency, knock-down, fecundity, longevity, hfespan, food uptake in adults, and growth rate of larvae. 

The 15 chapters of Honey Bees The Environmental Impact of Chemicals discuss these different subjects in depth. Besides presenting various tests and specific methodologies, a huge amount of ecotoxicological data, never previously published, is provided. Similarly, specific problems such as those related to the contamination of non-Apis bees, genetically modified plants, or regulatory constraints are addressed. 

---