rfid tracking of sublethal effects of two neonicotinoid insecticides on the foraging behavior of apis mellifera射频识别跟踪的两个烟碱类杀虫剂杀虫剂亚致死的影响的蜜蜂的觅食行为.pdfVIP

RFID Tracking of Sublethal Effects of Two Neonicotinoid Insecticides on the Foraging Behavior of Apis mellifera 1,2 ¨ 2 ¨ 1 1 Christof W. Schneider *, Jurgen Tautz , Bernd Grunewald , Stefan Fuchs ¨ ¨ ¨ 1 Institut fur Bienenkunde, Department of Biological Science, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 2 BEEgroup, Biocentre, University of Wurzburg, Wurzburg, Germany Abstract The development of insecticides requires valid risk assessment procedures to avoid causing harm to beneficial insects and especially to pollinators such as the honeybee Apis mellifera. In addition to testing according to current guidelines designed to detect bee mortality, tests are needed to determine possible sublethal effects interfering with the animal’s vitality and behavioral performance. Several methods have been used to detect sublethal effects of different insecticides under laboratory conditions using olfactory conditioning. Furthermore, studies have been conducted on the influence insecticides have on foraging activity and homing ability which require time-consuming visual observation. We tested an experimental design using the radiofrequency identification (RFID) method to monitor the influence of sublethal doses of insecticides on individual honeybee foragers on an automated basis. With electronic readers positioned at the hive entrance and at an artificial food source, we obtained quantifiable data on honeybee foraging behavior. This enabled us to efficiently retrieve detailed information on flight parameters. We compared several groups of bees, fed simultaneously with different