Comparative sublethal toxicity of nine pesticides on olfactory learning performances of the honeybee Apis mellifera.

Using a conditioned proboscis extension response (PER) assay, honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) can be trained to associate an odor stimulus with a sucrose reward. Previous studies have shown that observations of conditioned PER were of interest for assessing the behavioral effects of pesticides on the honeybee. In the present study, the effects of sublethal concentrations of nine pesticides on learning performances of worker bees subjected to the PER assay were estimated and compared. Pesticides were tested at three concentrations. The highest concentration of each pesticide corresponded to the median lethal dose value (48-h oral LD50), received per bee and per day, divided by 20. Reduced learning performances were observed for bees surviving treatment with fipronil, deltamethrin, endosulfan, and prochloraz. A lack of behavioral effects after treatment with lambda-cyalothrin, cypermethrin, tau-fluvalinate, triazamate, and dimethoate was recorded. No-observed-effect concentrations (NOECs) for the conditioned PER were derived for the studied pesticides. Our study shows that the PER assay can be used for estimating sublethal effects of pesticides on bees. Furthermore, comparisons of sensitivity as well as the estimation of NOECs, useful for regulatory purposes, are possible.

Biochemical characterization, molecular cloning and localization of a putative odorant-binding protein in the honey bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera : Apidea).

A honey bee antennal water-soluble protein, APS2, was purified and characterized as the first Hymenoptera putative odorant-binding protein. Comparison of its measured Mr (13695.2+/-1.6) to that of the corresponding cDNA clone shows it does not undergo any post-translational modification other than a 19-residue signal peptide cleavage and formation of three disulfide bridges. These biochemical features are close to those of Lepidoptera odorant-binding proteins. In situ hybridization experiments demonstrated its specific expression in olfactory areas. Based on its higher expression in the worker than in the drone, ASP2 might be more involved in general odorant than in sex pheromone detection.