Apis mellifera and Melipona scutellaris exhibit differential sensitivity to thiamethoxam

Author(s)

Miotelo, Lucas ; Mendes dos Reis, Ana Luiza ; Malaquias, Jose Bruno ; Malaspina, Osmar ; Roat, Thaisa Cristina

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Environmental Pollution; v. 268, p. 12-pg., 2021-01-01.

Abstract

Apis mellifera is a pollinator insect model in pesticide risk assessment tests for bees. However, given the economic and ecological importance of stingless bees such as Melipona scutellaris in the Neotropical region, as well as the lack of studies on the effect of insecticides on these bees, toxicity tests for stingless bees should be carried out to understand whether insecticides affect both species of bees in the same manner. Thus, the present study quantified the differential sensitivity of the bees M. scutellaris and A. mellifera to the oral ingestion of the insecticide thiamethoxam by determining the mean lethal concentration (LC50), mean lethal time (LT50), and their effect on the insecticide target organ, the brain. The results showed that the stingless bee is more sensitive to the insecticide than A. mellifera, with a lower LC50 of 0.0543 ng active ingredient (a.i.)/mu L for the stingless bee compared to 0.227 ng a.i./mu L, for A. mellifera. When exposed to a sublethal concentration, morphological and ultrastructural analyses were performed and evidenced a significant increase in spaces between nerve cells of both species. Thus, A. mellifera is not the most appropriate or unique model to determine the toxicity of insecticides to stingless bees. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/13370-8 - How is the reaction of the Apis mellifera brain to a sublethal dose of thiamethoxam?
• Grantee: Thaisa Cristina Roat
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/20435-5 - Modeling with game theory of behavioral / adaptive strategies of Spodoptera frugiperda and Helicoverpa armigera in Bt crops with spatio-temporal co-occurrence
• Grantee: José Bruno Malaquias
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/05953-7 - Ecological Modeling of the Resistance Evolution of Spodoptera frugiperda on Bt Cotton Mediated by Seed Contamination and Temperature Increasing
• Grantee: José Bruno Malaquias
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 15/20380-8 - Ecological modelling of the larval dispersion of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Bt cotton: implications for evolution and resistance management
• Grantee: José Bruno Malaquias
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate