An Attempt to Assess the Toxicity of Pesticide Formulations to Honeybees Foraging on Caged Apple Trees

Summary

It was demonstrated that the toxicity of pesticides to foraging honeybees can be compared by spraying individual flowering apple trees, each enclosed in a cage that contains a small colony of bees. We confirmed that oxydemeton-methyl is toxic to foraging honeybees, and found that N-dichlorofluoro-methanesulphenyl-N'N'-dimethyl-N-p-tolylsulphamide (Bayer 5712a, proposed common name tolylfluanid) is much less toxic. Limitations of the method are discussed; larger-scale trials are desirable.