Toxicity and biochemical effects of four pesticides on honey bee, Apis mellifera under laboratory conditions

Abstract The widespread use of insecticides can cause negative side effects on pollinators, resulting undesirable effects in crop productivity. So, this study was conducted to evaluate the toxicity and biochemical changes in honey bees, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enzymes, treated with four...

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Main Authors: Z. M. Al Dhafar, M. A. Abdel Razik, M. A. Osman, M. E. Sweelam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Instituto Internacional de Ecologia 2025-05-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Biology
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-69842025000100172&lng=en&tlng=en
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author Z. M. Al Dhafar
M. A. Abdel Razik
M. A. Osman
M. E. Sweelam
author_facet Z. M. Al Dhafar
M. A. Abdel Razik
M. A. Osman
M. E. Sweelam
author_sort Z. M. Al Dhafar
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The widespread use of insecticides can cause negative side effects on pollinators, resulting undesirable effects in crop productivity. So, this study was conducted to evaluate the toxicity and biochemical changes in honey bees, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enzymes, treated with four insecticides i.e. lambda-cyhalothrin, hexythiazox, fenpyroximate and thiamethoxam under laboratory conditions. The obtained results revealed that thiamethoxam was extremely toxic to A. mellifera adults (LC50=0.006 ppm) followed by lambda-cyhalothrin (LC50=0.053 ppm) and fenpyroximate (LC50=2.29 ppm) after 24 h of treatment, however, hexythiazox was relatively less toxic to bees (110.09 ppm). The sub-lethal concentration LC25 and LC50 of tested pesticides, reduced the activity of AChE, GST, MFO and esterase’s activities in honey bee adults, where, lambda-cyhalothrin and thiamethoxam induced the highest effects compared with other two pesticides and control. In contrast, the tested insecticides activated PPO enzyme at LC25 concentration, while PPO activity was reduced after treating adult bees with LC50. Lambda-cyhalothrin, thiamethoxam, fenpyroximate and hexythiazox disrupted the physiology of honey bees, thereby reducing the efficiency of this beneficial pollinator. Overall, the obtained results are valuable not only in evaluating the toxicity of common insecticides onto honey bees, but also in highlighting the validity of enzyme activities as appropriate indicators for exposure to agrochemicals.
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spelling doaj-art-8519ba075c9b48dfb478ea2c298f8d8e2025-08-20T03:48:07ZengInstituto Internacional de EcologiaBrazilian Journal of Biology1678-43752025-05-018510.1590/1519-6984.290561Toxicity and biochemical effects of four pesticides on honey bee, Apis mellifera under laboratory conditionsZ. M. Al Dhafarhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5875-6615M. A. Abdel Razikhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0218-9874M. A. Osmanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1934-261XM. E. Sweelamhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6628-6978Abstract The widespread use of insecticides can cause negative side effects on pollinators, resulting undesirable effects in crop productivity. So, this study was conducted to evaluate the toxicity and biochemical changes in honey bees, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enzymes, treated with four insecticides i.e. lambda-cyhalothrin, hexythiazox, fenpyroximate and thiamethoxam under laboratory conditions. The obtained results revealed that thiamethoxam was extremely toxic to A. mellifera adults (LC50=0.006 ppm) followed by lambda-cyhalothrin (LC50=0.053 ppm) and fenpyroximate (LC50=2.29 ppm) after 24 h of treatment, however, hexythiazox was relatively less toxic to bees (110.09 ppm). The sub-lethal concentration LC25 and LC50 of tested pesticides, reduced the activity of AChE, GST, MFO and esterase’s activities in honey bee adults, where, lambda-cyhalothrin and thiamethoxam induced the highest effects compared with other two pesticides and control. In contrast, the tested insecticides activated PPO enzyme at LC25 concentration, while PPO activity was reduced after treating adult bees with LC50. Lambda-cyhalothrin, thiamethoxam, fenpyroximate and hexythiazox disrupted the physiology of honey bees, thereby reducing the efficiency of this beneficial pollinator. Overall, the obtained results are valuable not only in evaluating the toxicity of common insecticides onto honey bees, but also in highlighting the validity of enzyme activities as appropriate indicators for exposure to agrochemicals.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-69842025000100172&lng=en&tlng=enApis melliferatoxicitydetoxification enzymeside effectsbiochemical analysis
spellingShingle Z. M. Al Dhafar
M. A. Abdel Razik
M. A. Osman
M. E. Sweelam
Toxicity and biochemical effects of four pesticides on honey bee, Apis mellifera under laboratory conditions
Brazilian Journal of Biology
Apis mellifera
toxicity
detoxification enzyme
side effects
biochemical analysis
title Toxicity and biochemical effects of four pesticides on honey bee, Apis mellifera under laboratory conditions
title_full Toxicity and biochemical effects of four pesticides on honey bee, Apis mellifera under laboratory conditions
title_fullStr Toxicity and biochemical effects of four pesticides on honey bee, Apis mellifera under laboratory conditions
title_full_unstemmed Toxicity and biochemical effects of four pesticides on honey bee, Apis mellifera under laboratory conditions
title_short Toxicity and biochemical effects of four pesticides on honey bee, Apis mellifera under laboratory conditions
title_sort toxicity and biochemical effects of four pesticides on honey bee apis mellifera under laboratory conditions
topic Apis mellifera
toxicity
detoxification enzyme
side effects
biochemical analysis
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1519-69842025000100172&lng=en&tlng=en
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AT maosman toxicityandbiochemicaleffectsoffourpesticidesonhoneybeeapismelliferaunderlaboratoryconditions
AT mesweelam toxicityandbiochemicaleffectsoffourpesticidesonhoneybeeapismelliferaunderlaboratoryconditions