Impact of naled on honey bee Apis mellifera L. survival and productivity: aerial ULV application using a flat-fan nozzle system.

A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of naled on honey bees as a result of their exposure to aerial ULV applications of this insecticide during three routine mosquito spray missions by Manatee County Mosquito Control District in Florida during the summer of 1999. Naled deposits were collected on filter paper and subsequently analyzed by gas chromatography. Mortality of adult honey bees Apis mellifera L. was estimated based on numbers from dead bee collectors placed in front of the entrance of the beehives. We found that honey bees clustering outside of the beehives were subject to naled exposure. Bee mortality increased when higher naled residues were found around the hives. The highest average naled deposit was 6,227 +/- 696 microg/m2 at the site 1 forest area following the mosquito spray mission on July 15, 1999. The range of naled deposition for this application was 2,818-7,101 microg/m2. The range of dead bees per hive was 0-39 prior to spraying and 9-200 within 24 h following this spray mission. The average yield of honey per hive was significantly lower (p < 0.05) for naled-exposed hives compared with unexposed hives. Because reduction of honey yield also may be affected by other factors, such as location of the hives relative to a food source and vigor of the queen bee, the final assessment of honey yield was complicated.

Laboratory evaluation of face paint repellent formulation using human volunteers under three climatic regimens.

A new combination of repellent with camouflage face paint was evaluated on volunteers against the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti (L.) and Anopheles stephensi (Liston) in an environmental chamber under three climatic regimens: tropical open, tropical forested, and hot dry environments. The duration of protection varied significantly among different climates. The camouflage face paint with diethylmethylbenzamide (deet) provided 95% protection from mosquitoes for 4 h, except under tropical open climate, where it provided only 2 h protection.