Residual toxicity of selected insecticides on Aphis gossypii and their safety limits on honeybees

Abstract

Evaluation studies were carried out to simulate realistic field exposures of sulfoxaflor and flonicamid against Aphis gossypii at foraging time of Apis mellifera. Semi-field trials of field rates of sulfoxaflor and flonicamid against A. gossypii laboratory strain at 48 h of exposure had equipollent overall mean of mortality of 62.50 and 63.50%, respectively in season of 2020, likewise 60.50 and 62.50%, respectively in season of 2021. Lethal time values (LT1) had ranges of 51.33–32.46 days for sulfoxaflor and 49.00–39.55 days for flonicamid. Laboratory trials on foraging honeybees (∼21 days old) at 5 h of exposure showed an excellence for sulfoxaflor (5.00%) in overall mean of mortality compared to flonicamid (2.75%) in season of 2020. Likewise, sulfoxaflor (4.75%) surpassed flonicamid (2.75%) in season of 2021. The highest LT1s on honeybees for sulfoxaflor and flonicamid reached 27.45 and 10.94 days, respectively. International Organization for Biological Control classified both insecticides to be harmless on honeybees. Survival foraging bees exposed to LD50s of the tested insecticides had malformed digestive tracts gradually vanished along week of exposure. Suggestions for foliar spray stoppages prior to flowering period were mentioned for both insecticides.