Acute toxicity of the fungicide captan to honey bees and mixed evidence for synergism with the insecticide thiamethoxam.

ABSTRACT: Honey bees are commonly co-exposed to pesticides during crop pollination, including the fungicide captan and neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam. We assessed the impact of exposure to these two pesticides individually and in combination, at a range of field-realistic doses. In laboratory assays, mortality of larvae treated with captan was 80-90% greater than controls, dose-independent, and similar to mortality from the lowest dose of thiamethoxam. There was evidence of synergism (i.e., a non-additive response) from captan-thiamethoxam co-exposure at the highest dose of thiamethoxam, but not at lower doses. In the field, we exposed whole colonies to the lowest doses used in the laboratory. Exposure to captan and thiamethoxam individually and in combination resulted in minimal impacts on

SUBMITTER: De Souza D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11231156 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature