<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Between 2013 and 2018, there was an outbreak of sudden foraging honey bee deaths in Turkey’s Çukurova Region from the beginning of February to the middle of March, a period of time when the sowing of maize seeds occurs in the region. Upon returning, the affected bees were unable to enter the hive because of unbalanced flying and walking. Deaths were seen at apiaries located on plains or near plains where maize seeds were sowed. When winds blew from the direction of the plains towards the hives, honey bee deaths increased, but when the weather was rainy, honey bee deaths decreased or stopped. Honey bee losses were mainly between 30% and 80%. Investigations related to the honey bee deaths were carried out in the affected apiaries using on-site inspection and laboratory tests. The main reason of deaths would be linked to the clothianidin coated maize seeds used in the plain during sowing period. No remarkable correlation with any bee pathogens was detected related to the sudden and prevalent honey bee deaths.</p></abstract>

Between 2013 and 2018, there was an outbreak of sudden foraging honey bee deaths in Turkey’s Çukurova Region from the beginning of February to the middle of March, a period of time when the sowing of maize seeds occurs in the region. Upon returning, the affected bees were unable to enter the hive because of unbalanced flying and walking. Deaths were seen at apiaries located on plains or near plains where maize seeds were sowed. When winds blew from the direction of the plains towards the hives, honey bee deaths increased, but when the weather was rainy, honey bee deaths decreased or stopped. Honey bee losses were mainly between 30% and 80%. Investigations related to the honey bee deaths were carried out in the affected apiaries using on-site inspection and laboratory tests. The main reason of deaths would be linked to the clothianidin coated maize seeds used in the plain during sowing period. No remarkable correlation with any bee pathogens was detected related to the sudden and prevalent honey bee deaths.

Sudden and Prevalent Deaths of Foraging Honey Bees in Early Spring During Sowing of Clothianidin Coated Maize Seeds Between 2013 and 2018 in Turkey

Journal of Apicultural Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Between 2013 and 2018, there was an outbreak of sudden foraging honey bee deaths in Turkey’s Çukurova Region from the beginning of February to the middle of...

Sample data	Clothianidin	Acetamprid	Imidacloprid	Thiamethoxam
1/Yumurtalık	13	1	-	-
2/Osmaniye	10	-	-	-
3/Yeniyayla	9	2	-	-
4/Seyhan	7	-	-	-
5/Yüreğir	6	-	-	-
Min-Max(n=5)	6-13	1-2
Positive rate	(100%)	(20%)	-	-

Years	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017

Number	57	34	70	10	129
Pesticides
Amitraz	-	-	-	-	1
Buprofezin	-	-	-	-	1
Carbendazim	-	-	-	-	14
Carbofuran	7	-	-	-	-
Carbosulfan	4	-	-	-	-
Chlorpyrifos	-	2	-	-	-
Coumaphos	17	9	12	-	-
Cyprodinil	-	-	-	-	3
Dimethylacetamide	-	-	-	-	4
Dimethylformamide	-	-	-	-	6
Epoxiconazole	-	-	-	-	8
Permethrin	1	-	-	-	-
Pyridaben	-	-	-	-	5
Taufluvalinate	2	1	2	-	-
Tebuconazole	-	-	-	-	5
Trifloxystrobin	-	-	-	-	1
Bee pathogens
American foulbrood	-	-	-	2	3
Nosema	2	-	33	5	72
Varroa	-	-	-	-	3
Black queen cell virus	-	3	7	1	18
Chronic bee paralysis virus	-	-	-	-	4
Deformed wing virus	-	-	-	-	17
Kashmir bee virus	-	-	-	-	9

Sample data	Clothianidin positive rate	Acetamprid positive rate	Imidacloprid positive rate	Thiamethoxam positive rate	Reference
Min-Max (n=77) Germany	1–212 (92%)	-	-	-	Pistorius et al., 2009
Min-Max (n=105) Italy	3–39 (25%)	-	1–240 (25%)	24–138 (2%)	Bortolotti et al., 2009
Min-Max (n=17) Slovenia	5–18 (88%)	-	<5 (12%)	13–200 (18%)	Public report, 2011

Sudden and Prevalent Deaths of Foraging Honey Bees in Early Spring During Sowing of Clothianidin Coated Maize Seeds Between 2013 and 2018 in Turkey

Article Category: Original Article

Pubblicato online: 02 lug 2020

Pagine: 67 - 76

Ricevuto: 17 apr 2019

Accettato: 21 gen 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2020-0007

Parole chiave
clothianidin, honey bee deaths, maize seed, Turkey, weather conditions

© 2020 Hasan H. Oruç et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

The results of chemical analysis for neonicotinoids in dead honey bees in this study (as μg/kg)

The results of qualitative chemical analysis and bee pathogen screenings in bees in Adana (ADFAL Report, 2017)

The results of chemical analysis for neonicotinoids in dead honey bees in previous studies (as μg/kg and whole number)

Sudden and Prevalent Deaths of Foraging Honey Bees in Early Spring During Sowing of Clothianidin Coated Maize Seeds Between 2013 and 2018 in Turkey

Article Category: Original Article

Pubblicato online: 02 lug 2020

Pagine: 67 - 76

Ricevuto: 17 apr 2019

Accettato: 21 gen 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2020-0007

Parole chiaveclothianidin, honey bee deaths, maize seed, Turkey, weather conditions

© 2020 Hasan H. Oruç et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

The results of chemical analysis for neonicotinoids in dead honey bees in this study (as μg/kg)

The results of qualitative chemical analysis and bee pathogen screenings in bees in Adana (ADFAL Report, 2017)

The results of chemical analysis for neonicotinoids in dead honey bees in previous studies (as μg/kg and whole number)

Parole chiave
clothianidin, honey bee deaths, maize seed, Turkey, weather conditions