title: Field assessment of Bt cry1Ah corn pollen on the survival, development and behavior of Apis mellifera ligustica.
abstract: Honeybees may be exposed to insecticidal proteins from transgenic plants via pollen. An assessment of the impact of such exposures on the honeybee is an essential part of the risk assessment process for transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis corn. A field trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of transgenic Bt cry1Ah corn on the honeybee Apis mellifera ligustica. Colonies of honeybees were moved to Bt or non-Bt corn fields during anthesis and then sampled to record their survival, development and behavior. No differences in immature stages, worker survival, bee body weight, hypopharyngeal gland weight, colony performance, foraging activity or olfactory learning abilities were detected between colonies that were placed in non-Bt corn fields and those placed in Bt corn fields. We conclude that cry1Ah corn carries no risk for the survival, development, colony performance or behavior of the honeybee A. mellifera ligustica.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing 100093, China; Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Ping-Li
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Juan
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing 100093, China; Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Yu
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Ji-Hu
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing 100093, China; Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100093, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Yan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing 100093, China; Key Laboratory of Pollinating Insect Biology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100093, China. Electronic address: ztapis@263.net.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics; D001516:Bees / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000378:metabolism; D007306:Insecticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000502:physiology*; D011058:Pollen / Q000633:toxicity*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004731:Endotoxins; D007306:Insecticides