Effect of biopesticide field spray DOR BT-1 on honey bee learning and memory

Biopesticides have the potential to control field pests in a targeted way while not harming non-target insects. They are considered relatively safe for the environment and for human consumption. Biopesticides containing a combination of the active toxins isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis are used as field sprays in Southern India. Though the safety of the use of biopesticides has been well established, few studies have looked at the effect of these pesticides on the cognition of non-target insects and important pollinators such as honey bees. In this study we looked at the effect of the field spray Dor Bt-1 on the learning and memory of the Western honey bee using olfactory conditioning assays. Our results show that high and low doses of the formulation do not affect the overall cognition of the honey bees. Higher order cognition assessed through odor discrimination tasks, remained unaffected. This study contributes to the growing effort to establish evidence-based safety assessment frameworks for biopesticide formulations used in agricultural field applications.