Synergistic and Antagonistic Interactions for Pesticide mixtures to Honeybee Larvae Toxicity

BACKGROUND: Recently, the widespread distribution of pesticides in the hive has been of concern about pesticide exposure on honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) health. Larval toxicity was adapted to assess the synergistic and antagonistic interaction of cumulative mortality to the honeybee larvae of the four most common pesticides detected in pollen. METHODS AND RESULTS: Acetamiprid($3.0{\mu}l/L$), chlorothalonil ($803.0{\mu}l/L$), coumaphos ($128.0{\mu}l/L$), and tau-fluvalinate ($123.0{\mu}l/L$) were tested in combination; binary, ternary and four component mixture. Larvae were exposed to four pesticides mixed in diet at the average levels detected in pollen. As a result, synthetic toxicity was observed in the binary mixture of acetamiprid with coumaphos. The binary and ternary component mixtures of tested pesticides have mostly demonstrated additive effect in larval bees. The significant antagonistic effects were found in four parings of mixtures including chlorothalonil added to acetamiprid/tau-fluvalinate or acetamiprid/coumaphos/tau-fluvalinate, and tau-fluvalinate added to acetamiprid/chlorothalonil or acetamiprid/coumaphos/chlorothalonil. CONCLUSION: Interactions between combinations of four pesticides showed mostly additive or antagonistic effects in larval bees. Therefore, predicting the larval mortality of pesticides mixtures on the basis of the results of single pesticide may actually overestimate the risk. We suggest that pesticide mixture in pollen be evaluated by adding their toxicity together for complete data on interactions.

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