title: Foraging Allocation in the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae), Tuned by the Presence of the Spinosad-Based Pesticide GF-120.
abstract: Agroecosystem management commonly involves the use of pesticides. As a result, a heterogeneous landscape is created, in which suitable and unsuitable spaces are defined by the absence/presence of pesticides. In this study, we explored how foragers of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L., adapt to such context. We specifically evaluated the effect of GF-120, a spinosad-based fruit fly toxic bait, on the allocation of foragers between food sources under the hypothesis that foragers will move from food sources with GF-120 to food sources without it. We thus carried out three experiments: in experiment 1, a group of foragers was trained to collect honey solution from a feeder; next, this feeder offered a GF-120/honey solution. A minority of foragers continued collecting the GF-120/honey solution. In experiment 2, we trained two groups of foragers from a colony to two food sources equally rewarding. Next, GF-120 was added to one of the food sources. We found that the majority of foragers moved from the GF-120-treated feeder to the feeder without GF-120 and that the minority that continued visiting the GF-120-treated feeder did not collect the GF-120/honey solution. In a third experiment, we wanted to know if foragers in an experimental setup as in experiment 1 would perform waggle dances: none of the foragers that collected GF-120/honey were observed dancing. Our results emphasize the importance of "food refuges" for non-target species, since they minimize the impact of agrochemicals upon them.
authors.affiliation: El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Carretera Antiguo Aeropuerto Km 2.5, Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, CP 30700.
authors.forename: N V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Cabrera-Marín
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liedo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vandame
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000187:drug effects*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D018942:Macrolides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008800:Mexico; D010575:Pesticides / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; C000618256:GF-120 compound; D018942:Macrolides; D010575:Pesticides; C415329:spinosad