Apidologie 35 (2004) 605-610
DOI: 10.1051/apido:2004056

Effects of coumaphos on queen rearing in the honey bee, Apis mellifera

Jeffery S. Pettis^a, Anita M. Collins^a, Reg. Wilbanks^b and Mark. F. Feldlaufer<sup>a

a</sup>  USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Bee Research Laboratory, Bldg. 476, BARC-East, Beltsville, Maryland 20705, USA
^b  Wilbanks Apiaries, Claxton, Georgia 30417, USA

(Received 3 November 2003; revised 11 February 2004; accepted 26 February 2004)

Abstract - Young honey bee larvae were transferred into the queen cups containing known concentrations (0 to 1000 mg/kg) of the organophosphate pesticide coumaphos. These larvae were placed in queenless colonies and examined ten days later to determine the rate of rejection or acceptance as indicated by a mature sealed queen cell. All queens failed to develop at 1000 mg/kg, and greater than 50% of the queen cells were rejected at the 100 mg/kg concentration. Additionally, queens that survived exposure to100 mg/kg coumaphos weighed significantly less than control queens. The implications of exposure of developing queens to sublethal amounts of pesticides are discussed.

Key words: coumaphos / queen rearing / residues / beeswax

Corresponding author: Jeffery S. Pettis pettisj@ba.ars.usda.gov

© INRA, EDP Sciences, DIB, AGIB 2004