2. Introduction
Honeybees:-
• Order: Hymenoptera.
• Most common species: Apis mellifera
• Producers of honey(a natural product
which has no substitute and bee wax).
• Live in a beehive.
• Up to 20,000 individuals live in a hive.
• Works together in a specialized social
organisation.
• Primary pollinators for over 50 fruits
and vegetables.
3. Importance of Honey Bees as Pollinators
• Essential to the production of more than 90 crops.
• 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat daily can be attributed
to pollinators.
• Pollinate most of our food crops and wild flowers.
• Provide a highly valued ecosystem service.
• Support wider biodiversity.
• USDA valued pollination at $20-$30 billion annually.(May
2013 report).
4. •A single beekeeper (almonds, blueberries, pumpkins
apples and cherries) - $5 million value to the agricultural
economy.
•Some of the crops which honey bee pollinates-
- Apples
- Blueberries
- Cucumbers
- Squash
- Pumpkin
- Watermelon
- Strawberries
- Peaches
- Blackberries
- Raspberries Partially pollinated and Completely cucumber
5. 750,000+ acres of almonds in Central CA require 1.5 million
colonies of honey bees for pollination.
NO BEES , NO NUTS
7. Present Situation of Honey Bee
• The plight of our bees is of concern to all of us since
populations of honey bees and other pollinators have
declined worldwide in recent years.
• A variety of stressors, including agricultural pesticides.
• Since 1900, the UK has lost 20 species of bee and a further
35 bee species are considered to be under threat of
extinction.
8. What’s Buzzing Bees in India
• Since around 2002, farmers in Odisha, Kerala, Punjab,
Maharashtra and Tripura have been noticing that fewer bees
visit their fields each year.
• Three studies released around 2012 narrowed down the cause
to neonicotinoids, for bees functioning .
• 1st study- Pesticides makes them age faster.
• 2nd study- Land with lower pesticide ,higher diversity of bee
species.
9. • 3rd study- Lost their sense of smell – and so were unable to
return to their hives.
CASE STUDY-May 2, 2014
10.
11.
12. Production Volume of Honey Across
India from FY 2015 to FY 2017
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017
Production
volume in 1000
metric tons
13. Your breakfast with bees Your breakfast without bees
Scientific American April 2009
Value of crops that depend on pollination:
$217 billion worldwide
16. Pesticides
Pesticide- A substance used for killing/repelling pests.
• Most honey bee losses from 1966-1979 were attributable to
organochlorine, carbamate, organophosphate, and
pyrethroid pesticide exposure.
Why pesticides are harmful to honey bees?
• Honey bee genome is deficient in the number of genes
encoding detoxification enzymes, including cytochrome P450
monooxygenases (P450s), glutathione-S-transferases, and
carboxylesterases.
17.
18. Honey bee colony decline
Low concentrations found
in nectar and treated crops
Can accumulate in soil
20. Pesticide Toxicity in Honey Bees
Acute toxicity of insecticides and fungicides to honeybee, A.cerana
and A. mellifera
21. Pollinator Poisoning can occur from:
• Direct exposure during
application.
• Residues picked up through
foraging (pollen and nectar)
and taken back to the hive.
• Residues from non-crop plants.
(ground cover, field edges,
ditches, etc.)
• Contamination in time with
sub-lethal doses that can cause
lethal chronic effects.
iStockphoto
.com
22. Symptoms of bee poisoning
• Dead bees near the entrance of hive or colonies.
• Dead bees on the top of frames or bottom board.
• Fighting among bees.
• Paralyzed bees crawling on nearby objects.
• Sudden decline in food storage and brood rearing.
• Dead and deserted brood in the hive.
• Poor recognition of pollen and nectar by bees.
• Depleted population of the colony.
• Finally results in contamination of bee products.
23. Devastating honey bee insecticides
Synergistic effects
Prochloraz(fungicide)
Deltamethrin
(insecticide)
Sub lethal effects
Movement
-Parathion
Harvesting and
transport of
nectar-Diazinon
Flight
guidance-
Deltamethri
n
Acute Chronic
Effect of pesticides on honey
bees
Contd..
25. Active substance
(brand name)
Toxicity Residual activity Time of
application
Acephate
(Orthene)
3 days NF
Acetamiprid
(Assail)
ANN
Carbaryl
(Sevin)
3-7days NF
Chlorpyrifos
(Lorsban)
4-6days NF
Deltametrin
(Decis)
4 hours ANN
Endosulfan
(Thiodan)
<8hours AN
Imidacloprid
(Admire)
<8hours AN
Characteristics of Pesticides commonly used in
Plant Protection and their Toxicity to Honey Bees
Insecticides
26. Active substance
(brand name)
Toxicity Time of
application
Captan
(Captan)
NF
Iprodione
(Roval)
NF
Mancozeb
(Manzate)
ATT
Active substance
(brand name)
Toxicity Time of
application
Bifenazate
(Acramite)
ANN
Dicofol
(Kelthane)
ATT
Spiromesifen
(Forbid)
ATT
Fungicides
Acaricides
27. Active substance
(brand name)
Toxicity Time of
application
2,4-D
(ester)
ATT
Glyphosate
(Round-up)
ATT
Trifluralin
(Treflan)
ATT
Herbiciades
Time of Application-
NF- not to be applied on flowering plants
AN- to be applied in the evening
ANN- to be applied in the evening, night and early
morning
ATT- can be applied any time
28. Case studies of Neonicotinoid Insecticides-
• In 2013, the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA)
restricted neonicotinoids which posed a “high acute risk”
to honey bees.
• In August 2016, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology linked
use of neonicotinoids on oilseed rape over 18 years to
declines of different honey bee species. Honey bees exposed
to neonicotinoids were “on average three times more
negatively affected".
29. Neonicotinoid Insecticides
• Use of neonicotinoid pesticides has been a continuous issue
in recent years.
Mode of Action
Paralysis and ultimately
death
Taken up by plant tissuesMixed with seed or
in irrigation water
30. • Recognize Pollinator Foraging Habits.
• Recognize Residual toxicity.
• ERT pesticides may not be applied
to blooming crops or weeds.
Groups with ERT-
Organophosphates (e.g., acephate,
chlorpyrifos, malathion).
Carbamates (e.g., carbaryl).
Neonicotnioids (e.g., imidacloprid).
Pyrethroids (e.g., deltamethrin and
cyfluthrin).
What can be done?
31. Sun up Sun down
#offoragers
Time of Day
A Honey Bee’s (Daily) Life
Honey bees forage sun up to sun down unless
it’s raining
32. Sun up Sun down
#offoragers
Time of Day
Kills Bees Best
OK if little
residueOK if no residue
Best time for Pesticide Application:
Dusk to Dawn
33. Management of bee poisoning
• Bee colonies should be maintained where use and drift of
pesticide is minimum.
• Close co-operation with farmers to avoid irrational use of
pesticides.
• Feeding of colonies with sugar syrup at the time of pesticide
application to reduce bee foraging.
34. Management practices to be followed by
the farmers
• Need based use of pesticide.
• Informing the bee keepers in advance about the spray.
• Use of less hazardous insecticides.
• Granules, EC are preferred compared to dusts.
• Avoid formulations with attractants.
• Spraying in the evening when the bee activity subsides.
35. Conclusion
• Exposure of honey bees to pesticides is a continuous
challenge because of newly formulated pesticides each
year.
• A single worker honey bee can contaminate the whole hive.
• Insecticide treatments should not be recommended in
plantations and crops during flowering, but at proper
time.
36. Contd..
• Implementation of practical steps, backed by
interdisciplinary research, is necessary for ecological
function, agricultural production, and human health.
• Joint decision making by gov. agencies, agrichemical, food
production and retail industries are required.
• This is achievable and vital as we move toward integrated
approaches to landscape management, which balance
provisioning and other ecosystem services to improve
sustainable resource security.
