A combination of the frequent fungicides boscalid and dimoxystrobin with the neonicotinoid acetamiprid in field-realistic concentrations does not affect sucrose responsiveness and learning behavior of honeybees

The effect of the fungicide Cantus Gold and the neonicotinoid insecticide Mospilan on the mortality, the responsiveness to sucrose and the learning performance of honeybees was tested. Mortality studies were performed for a low and a high concentration to determine two suitable sublethal doses for behavioral experiments. PER (proboscis extension response) tests and olfactory conditioning were conducted to investigate possible negative synergistic effects of the plant protection products. During the PER tests, a series of sucrose concentrations was presented to the bees and the response was noted (1/0). During conditioning, a rewarded (Nonanol) and a punished odor (Eugenol) were used, which were interchanged during reversal learning. Only bees that reacted to the highest concentration of sucrose water and showed no spontaneous reaction for both odors were conditioned. It was noted when the bee showed a conditioned response. There were no treatment effects on the responsiveness to sucrose and the learning performance.

本研究旨在探讨杀菌剂Cantus Gold和拟除虫菊酯类杀虫剂Mospilan对蜜蜂死亡率、对蔗糖的响应性及学习能力的 影响。通过低浓度和高浓度的死亡率研究，确定了两种适合行为实验的亚致死剂量。通过进行proboscis extension response (PER) 测试和嗅觉条件反射实验，探究了植物保护产品可能产生的负协同效应。在PER测试中，向蜜蜂呈现一系列蔗糖浓度，并记录其反应（1/0）。在条件反射实验中，使用了一种奖励性气味（壬醇）和一种惩罚性气味（丁香酚），在逆转学习过程中交替使用。只有对最高浓度蔗糖水产生反应且对两种气味均无自发反应的蜜蜂才会被进行条件反射训练。记录蜜蜂出现条件反射反应的时刻。研究发现，处理组对蔗糖的响应性和学习能力无显著影响。