Effect of some antimicrobial drugs on the fitness of honeybee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Bee Research Department, Plant Protection Research Institute, ARC, Dokki, Giza, Egypt

2 Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt

3 Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Humanity Studies at Al-Quwayiyah, Shaqra University, Al-Quwayiyah 11971, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Beekeepers apply antimicrobial drugs to control bacterial and microsporidian diseases. This worries people worldwide. The current work aims to evaluate the residue concentrations of three common antibiotics (tylosin, sodium sulfademedin, and septazol) used to control honeybee diseases and to study the effect of antibiotics on bees Biology. Honey was collected 42 days (2 generations of the worker development) post-treatment for HPLC analysis; honeybee activities (brood-rearing and pollen areas) were observed at 5 intervals every 12 days (0, 12, 24, 36, and 48 days) post-treatment. Hygienic behavior and metabolic reserves (body proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates) were observed at two intervals (0- and 42-day) post-treatment. Results showed that residues of antimicrobial drugs in honey samples were significantly higher than those in the controls. Results indicated that no negative effect was observed on the brood rearing and pollen gathering as well as hygienic behavior of honeybee workers due to the doses of the antibiotics. Meanwhile, the colonies treated with tylosin showed lower hygienic behavior than the control at 0-day. The time progress did not affect the brood-rearing area in all tested conditions. The metabolic reserves showed non-significant differences post-treatment compared with the controls. However, the body proteins and lipids exhibited lower contents at 42 days compared with those at 0-day. This study detected major contamination danger for bee products originated from wrong apiculture practices and a probable risk for the honeybees.

Keywords

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics