This document provides an overview of beekeeping and the use of pesticides in plant protection. It discusses what beekeeping is, the benefits it provides, and major honey producing countries. It then covers the classification and effects of different types of pesticides on bees, including direct contact and indirect impacts. Finally, it lists factors that influence bee poisoning from pesticides, such as formulation, application timing, and temperature. The overall topic is the relationship between pesticide use and beekeeping.

1. WELCOM
E

2. CREDIT SEMINAR ON
Use of Pesticides in Plant Protection with
Relation to Bee Keeping
Submitted by:
AMIT KUMAR
Reg. no. 2016K/A.2376
M.Sc.(Ag) Entomology
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
KHALSA COLLEGE
AMRITSAR, 143002
Advisor:
Prof. AMANDEEP
SINGH
Associate Professor
Dept. of Agril. Entomology

3. INTRODUCTION

4. What is beekeeping ?
• Beekeeping is the maintenance of
honeybee colonies, commonly in hives
by humans
• A beekeeper (apiarist) keeps bees in
order to collect honey, beeswax, to
pollinate crops or to produce bees for
sale to others
• A location where bees are kept is
called an apiary or "bee yard"

5. About 50 million bee colonies mostly, Apis mellifera is maintained all over
the world
World production of honey estimated 13.88 lakh M.T
Major honey producing countries are China, USA, Mexico, Argentina,
Ukraine, Turkey, Russia & India
China is only Asian country producing nearly 1.6 lakh M.T of honey, 12800
M.T. of beeswax against 43400 M.T. of world production
China also produces 800 M.T of royal jelly and biggest exporter of honey,
beeswax and other bee products
National bee board, Govt of India 2013

6. About 14 lakh colonies by 2.50 lakh Beekeepers
• Employment to 1.50 lakh persons
• Annual honey production 52,000 tones (54.15 %
from domesticated and 45.85 % from wild)
• Apis cerana and Apis mellifera both are in
practice Average yield of honey 20.11 kg/hive
• Value of export of honey approximately 250 crores
• Major markets Germany, USA, UK, Japan, France,
Italy and Spain
National bee board, Govt of India 2013

7. Major crops and their reliance on honeybee pollination
Crop Per cent reliance on honey bee
pollination
Apple 90
Pear 50
Peach 60
Macadamia 90
Almonds 100
Avacado 100
Mango 90
Melons 70
Pumpkin 90
Orange 30
Peas 50
Nectarine 60
Strawberry 40
Apricot 70
National Bee Board, Govt. of India 2013

8. BENEFITS OF BEE KEEPING

9. • To enhance the productivity of agricultural crops
-keeping colonies
-spraying bee attractants at the time of flowering
which helps to increase in bee visitation
• To provides employment and income for the
youth
• Production from hive
Honey Wax
Honey

10. Sr. No. Treatments No. of
seeds/
umbels
Test
wt (g)
Yield of 5
plants in
g
increase
Per cent
increase over
OP PWI
Per cent
increase over
OP PWI OP
Per cent
over
PWI
1 1081.3 -- 23.63 5.45 -- 11.00 63.20 -- 35.62
2
3
4
5
6
7
1285.3 18.87 46.96 6.55 20.18 33.40 87.96 39.18 88.75
1164.0 7.65 33.09 6.16 13.07 25.46 81.20 28.48 74.25
1376.0 27.25 57.33 7.09 30.09 44.40 108.99 72.45 133.89
1202.0 11.16 37.43 5.81 6.60 18.33 72.96 15.44 56.57
1237.3 14.43 41.47 5.67 4.04 15.48 67.07 6.12 43.93
1319.3 22.01 50.85 5.99 9.91 22.00 79.93 26.47 71.52
5
Open
pollination
Apis cerana
Apis mellifera
Apis florea
Bee-Q 15 g/lit
SSS 5%
Bee-Q+SSS
(10g/lit+5%)
Pollination
without insect
874.6 -- -- 4.91 -- -- 46.60 -- --
Effect of bee visitation on yield parameters of onion
Mupade et. al. 2009

11. Pumpkin
cultivar
Seeds/pumpkin Seed wt (g)/pumpkin Seed wt/100 seeds (g)
With bees With bees With bees
Motherlode
Without
bees
551 700 (27%)
Without
bees
78.4 106.4 (36%)
Without
bees
14.8 15.7 (6%)
Autumn King 644 684 (6%) 86.8 100.8 (16%) 13.7 15.1 (10%)
Ichabod 555 633 (14%) 64.4 103.6 (61%) 10.9 16.8 (54%)
Gold Strike 531 609 (15%) 75.6 86.8 (15%) 14.3 14.3 (0%)
Gold Rush 553 595 (8%) 81.2 81.2 (0%) 14.8 13.7 (-7%)
Appalachian 506 595 (18%) 70.0 89.6 (28%) 13.7 15.7 (15%)
Aspen 503 590 (17%) 78.4 109.2 (39%) 15.4 18.8 (22%)
Howden 591 570 (4%) 78.4 86.8 (11%)
Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) seed characters as affected by the
presence or absence of honey bee colonies
13.4 15.7 (17%)
Walters S. A.

12. PESTICIDE
FAO defines Pesticide as
Any substance intended for
preventing, destroying, repelling, attracting or
controlling any pest including unwanted
species of plants or animals causing harm

13. FAO., 2013

14. Reasons for bee loss
Pest &

15. Classification of pesticide based on toxicity to
honeybees
Highly toxic (acute LD50less than 2 µg/bee)
Moderately toxic (acute LD50 2 µg /bee to
10.99 μg/bee)
Slightly toxic (acute LD50 11 µg/bee to 100
μg/bee)
Non-toxic (acute LD50more than 100 μg/bee)
to adult bees

16. Insecticides affect honeybees by
1) Contact poison : Absorbed through the integument
2) Stomach poison: Absorbed through the alimentary canal when taken
3) Fumigation:
internally through feeding or cleaning activities
Absorbed through the spiracles affecting
respiratory system

17. Dead bees near the entrance of hive, colonies or
top of frames
Lack of recognition of guard bees
 Abdomen become distended
 Regurgitation of gut contents
 Aggressiveness
 Fighting among bees
Queen stops laying eggs or lay eggs in irregular
pattern
 Paralyzed bees crawling on near by objects
 Sudden decline in food storage and brood rearing
 Poor recognition of pollen and nectar by bees
 Depleted population of the colony
 Finally results in contamination of bee products

18. Class of pesticides Symptoms
Organophosphorus • Regurgitation
• Disorientation
• Irritability
• Perhaps distended abdomen
• Erratic attempts to clean selves
• Tumbling about
• Paralyses and ultimately die
•wingsheld away from body but usually remaining hooked
together
• High percentage of poisoned bees die near the colony
Chlorinated hydrocarbons o Erratic movements
o Tumbling
oHindlegs dragged as if paralyzed and wings held away from
body but usually remaining hooked together
o High percentage of bees die in the field or near apiary

19. Carbamates
Erratic movements
Unableto fly
Most bees usually die at the colony
Queens often cease egg laying
Hive bees initiate supercedure
Rearing queens before egg laying resumes
Botanicals Regurgitation from highly toxic Pyrethrins together
with movements then inability to fly followed by
paralysis and death
Bees often die between foraging area and colony
Dinitrophenyl Similar to symptoms of chlorinated hydrocarbons
 Most affected bees usually die at colony

20. from cells treated with different insecticides
Sharma and Abrol 2006

21. poisoned withBees with deformed wings developing from brood
carbaryl, ethiprole and betacyfluthrin + imidacloprid

22. DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECT ON HONEY BEES DUE
TO INSECTICIDES

23. Get killed by Insecticides in field (Direct exposure)
By two ways
11Thomson et al., 2007 ; Chauzat et al., 20

24. 11Thomson et al., 2007 ; Chauzat et al., 20

25. Indirect effects of pesticides usages to honey bees
 Reduced foraging activity
 Influence bee behavior like dance rhythm, flight velocity, walking
speed, wing beat frequency etc.
Repeated application of pesticides can cause physiological injury to
bees
Pesticide contaminated food/nectar may cause bees to cease feeding or
there may be reduced consumption and collection of nectar

26. TREATMENT (conc.) Bee Species No.of bees/100flowers/min
Malathion 50 EC 0.05 % A. mellifera
A. cerana.
A. florea
A. dorsata
Carbaryi 50 WP 0.10 % A. Mellifera
A. cerana
A. florea
A. dorasata
Percent reduction after spray
2 DAYS 7 DAYS
70.00 (56.79) 43.00 (40.98)
60.00 (50.57) 47.00 (43.28)
78.00 (62.03) 66.00 (54.33)
70.00 (56.79) 39.00 (38.65)
65.00 (53.73) 48.00 (43.85)
65.00 (53.73) 47.00 (43.28)
74.00 (59.34) 55.00 (47.87)
64.00 (53.13) 39.00 (38.65)
Percent reduction in visit of different Apis species due to application of insecticides
and biopesticides

27. A. melllifera 46.00(42.71) 34.00(35.67)
A. cerana 55.00(47.87) 29.00(32.58)
A. florea 70.00(56.79 ) 54.00(47.29)
A. dorsata 70.00(56.79) 40.00(39.23)
Chloropyriphos 20 EC 0.02 % A. mellifera 63.00(52.53) 35.00(40.98)
A. cerana 55.00(47.87) 29.00(32.58)
A. florea 74.00(59.34) 63.00(52.53)
A. dorsata 50.00(45.00) 31.00(33.83)
Neem Oil 25 EC 0.30 % A. mellifera 44.00(41.55) 6.00(14.18)
A. cerana 49.00(44.43) 5.00(12.92)
A. florea 30.00(33.21) 10.00(18.44)
A. dorsata
Cont…..,
Metasystox 25 EC 0.02 %
40.00(39.23) 10.00(18.44)
Abrol and Anil kumar, 2009

28. Cypermethrin and permethrin were found to be highly toxic insecticides against
5
0
foraging workers of A. cerana indica Fab. with their LC values 0.0001832 and
0.0005122 %, respectively. Methyl demeton and phosphamidon were
50moderately toxic (LC values 0.0083498 and 0.018969 %) while endosulfan was
5
0
found to be least toxic with LC 0.40522 (Reddy, 1997)
Cypermethrin and permethrin were found to be highly toxic insecticides against
foraging workers of A. cerana indica Fab. with their LC50 values 0.0001832 and
0.0005122 %, respectively. Methyl demeton and phosphamidon were moderately
toxic (LC50 values 0.0083498 and 0.018969 %) while endosulfan was
found to be least toxic with LC50 0.40522 (Reddy, 1997)

29. Karnatak and Thorat (2006) monitored the effects of
some common insecticides and reported the order
of toxicity as follows: chlorpyriphos >
monocrotophos > imidacloprid > quinalphos >
oxydemeton-methyl > endosulfan
Reddy and Reddy (2006) tested some insecticides
for oral and dermal toxicity tests against Indian
honeybee, Apis cerana. The oral toxicity in
descending order was as follows: carbaryl >
quinalphos > carbosulfan > dimethoate > methyl
parathion > cypermethrin > monocrotophos >
fenitrothion > fenvelarate > alphamethrin
>
malathion > chlorpyriphos > endosulfan > diazinon
Karnatak and Thorat (2006) monitored the effects of
some common insecticides and reported the order
of toxicity
monocrotophos
as follows: chlorpyriphos >
> imidacloprid > quinalphos >
oxydemeton-methyl > endosulfan
Reddy and Reddy (2006) tested some insecticides for
oral and dermal toxicity tests against Indian
honeybee, Apis cerana. The oral toxicity in
descending order was as follows: carbaryl >
quinalphos > carbosulfan > dimethoate > methyl
parathion > cypermethrin >
fenitrothion > fenvelarate >
monocrotophos >
alphamethrin >
malathion > chlorpyriphos > endosulfan > diazinon

30. On the basis of LD50, cypermethrin, imidacloprid, lambda cyhalothrin and
spinosad were found to be highly toxic (0.001-1.99 µg/bee), endosulfan as
moderatley toxic (LD50 2.0-10.0 µg/bee) and azadirachtin, Bacillus thuringiensis
subsp. kurstaki, benzoylphenyl urea, spiromesifen and thiacloprid as relatively
non-toxic with LD50 > 11.0 µg/bee (Choudhary, 2007)

31. Factors influencing bee poisoningFactors influencing bee poisoning
• Pesticide formulation :
Dust formulations are more hazardous to bees than sprays as these contaminate the
atmosphere and can be carried to neighboring localities.
Wettable powders have longer residual effect than emulsions.
• Period of application :
Bee visits plants during their flowering period, therefore pesticide application
during flowering period result in harmful effects on honey bees.
• Time of application :
Bees are generally active during day time and attends pick intensity at afternoon.
Pesticide applications during this period are therefore very hazardous to the bees.
• Residual action of pesticide :
Many pesticides are made so that they can retain their properties for long after
application.
Such chemicals with long residual action are harmful to the bees.

32. • Location of colonies :
Honey bees normally have a foraging range of 1 to 2 km from the colony.
Application of pesticides within 2 km of the colonies, therefore proves
detrimental.
• Temperature :
The most significant factor causing differences in the toxicity of pesticides.
Immediate effect may be much grater at higher temperatures whereas, residual
effects are likely to be less because the toxic materials breaks down more
quickly.
• Age and size of bees :
Smaller bees have a higher surface to volume ratio and contact poison will be
more toxic to them to larger bees.

33. 1. Use pesticides only when needed
-Don’t apply any pesticides unless the crop is heavily infested
-If necessary, use those insecticides which are non-toxic or less harmful to
the bees
2. Avoid the application of a pesticide to a crop in bloom
3. Use of safest formulation of a safest insecticide
- Granular formulations are safest for bees
- Dusts are more harmful than the sprays of the same insecticide
- Emulsifiable and water soluble concentrates are safest for the bees
- Adding solvent or an oily substance tends to make the sprays
safest for the bees

34. 4. Method of pesticide application
-Ground application is safer than the aerial application
-Inject systemic insecticides into the ground where ever possible, not
into the plant
-Fine sprays are safer than the coarse ones
-A combined application is often safer as well as cheaper than the
application of separate insecticides at different times
-Repellants may be used to discourage bees from foraging on the
treated crop

35. 5. The timing of application
-Never apply pesticides while the crop is in bloom or while interplant's or
adjacent crops are in bloom.
- Never apply insecticides when bees are flying.
-Take early morning or late evening application of pesticides depending
upon bee activities on the crop are relatively safe.
6. Pesticide dusts and small granules should not be left open or thrown
carelessly anywhere
- Because bees are likely to collect such dusts during acute dearth periods.

36. 7. Early warning to beekeepers
Providing sufficient space in hives
Provide proper ventilation
Shading hives
Covering the hives with net absorbent matting
Provide water inside the hives
Minimizing the period of confinement

37. Use biocide applications as far as possible outside the blooming
period
Pesticides which have short residual effects are less hazardous to
honey bees
Broad spectrum pesticides should be avoided as they are more
hazardous to bees than the selective pesticides
Both the orchardists and beekeepers should be educated properly
about pesticide applications schedules and how to reduce poisoning
in a particular area

38. Evening or early morning application of pesticides is always
desirable
because foraging bees are at that time in the hive and out of
danger
 Keep bee colonies away from the treated fields as far as
possible
 The order of toxicities of insecticide formulation : dust >
wettable powder > Emulsifiable concentrate or soluble or
liquid solution > Granular formulation
 Remove all the flowering weeds from the field so that they
do not act as a source of poison to bees.

39. be on the use of an Integrated PestPrimary emphasis should
Management programme
 Which relies on biological, cultural or other non chemical methods
of insect pest control and minimize the use of poisonous chemicals
 Colonies may be temporarily shifted if heavy spraying schedule is
fixed

40. Con clusio
n
Conclusio
n
Simply banning pesticides is clearly not theway forward
and not an appropriate option. Instead, we should ensure
that approved pesticides which are safe under normal
field conditions used properly and responsibly.

41. REFERENCES
•Abrol, D. P. and Anilkumar., 2009, Foraging activities of Apis species on
strawberry blossoms as influenced by pesticides. Pak. Entomol., 31: 36-41.
•Abrol, D. P. and Devinder Sharma., 2007, Morphogenic and toxic effects of
pesticides on honeybee brood. J. Research, SKUAST-J, 6 (2) : 133-148.
•Chauzat, M. P. and Faucon, J. P., 2007, Pesticide residues in beeswax
samples collected from honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera L.) in france.
Pest Manag Sci., 63: 1100-1106.
•Choudhary and Sharma, 2007, Dynamics of pesticide residues in nectar
and pollen of mustard (Brasica juncea (L.) Czern.) grown in Himachal
Pradesh (India). Environ Monit Assess (2008), 144 : 143-150
•Christian, H. K., Gregory H. and Rick E. F., Extension Entomologists., 2012,
Protecting honey bees from pesticides. J. Apiculture Sci., 24: 156-165.

42. “No bees, no food for mankind. The bee is the basis for life on
this earth.”
As
Albert
Einsteinsaid
on
ce