VIII SIMPOSIO INTERNAZIONALE ICPBR

HAZARDS OF PESTICIDES TO BEES

Bologna, 4-6 Settembre 2002

Protocolli EPPO per i test di tossicità

Honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) testing in Southern Europe: from the laboratory to the relevant crop in the field

Ingo Tornier, Annette Kling and Andrea Schur

GAB Biotechnologie GmbH, Eutinger Strasse 24, D-75223 Niefern-Öschelbronn, Germany. E-mail: ingo.tornier@gab-biotech.de

The existing guidelines (BBA VI, 23-1, OECD Nos. 213 and 214, OEPP/EPPO No. 170) for honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) testing of plant protection products were mainly developed in the northern part of Europe. The test designs were adapted to the northern climatic zones and the bee specie (Apis mellifera carnica), which typically come to its use. Since the last 2 – 3 years the request of testing the side effects of plant protection products on the honey bee in Southern Europe gets more important.

Therefore the LD50 values of dimethoate in acute oral and contact toxicity tests were determined in Spain (Southern Europe) in comparison to Germany (Northern Europe) to evaluate the sensitivity of Apis mellifera mellifera and Apis mellifera carnica.

Furthermore tunnel tests and field tests in Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) were conducted in both regions. Differences in methodology and results will be presented.

Since the last update of the OEPP/EPPO No. 170 guideline the possibility is given to test pesticides in the relevant crop, on which the test product use is proposed. Adapted test methods for important crops in the South, e.g. Citrus, Melon, Tomato, Peach and Plum were developed and should be discussed.