A Pesticide Residues Insight on Honeybees, Bumblebees and Olive Oil after Pesticidal Applications against the Olive Fruit Fly <i>Bactrocera oleae</i> (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Kyriaki Varikou,
Konstantinos M. Kasiotis,
Eleftheria Bempelou,
Electra Manea-Karga,
Chris Anagnostopoulos,
Angeliki Charalampous,
Nikos Garantonakis,
Athanasia Birouraki,
Fani Hatjina,
Kyriaki Machera
Affiliations
Kyriaki Varikou
Department of Entomology, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture, ELGO-DIMITRA, Leoforos Karamanli, 73100 Chania, Crete, Greece
Konstantinos M. Kasiotis
Laboratory of Pesticides’ Toxicology, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta str., 14561 Kifissia, Greece
Eleftheria Bempelou
Laboratory of Pesticide Residues, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta str., 14561 Kifissia, Greece
Electra Manea-Karga
Laboratory of Pesticides’ Toxicology, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta str., 14561 Kifissia, Greece
Chris Anagnostopoulos
Laboratory of Pesticide Residues, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta str., 14561 Kifissia, Greece
Angeliki Charalampous
Laboratory of Pesticide Residues, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta str., 14561 Kifissia, Greece
Nikos Garantonakis
Department of Entomology, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture, ELGO-DIMITRA, Leoforos Karamanli, 73100 Chania, Crete, Greece
Athanasia Birouraki
Department of Entomology, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture, ELGO-DIMITRA, Leoforos Karamanli, 73100 Chania, Crete, Greece
Fani Hatjina
Department of Apiculture, Institute of Animal Science, ELGO-DIMITRA, 63200 Nea Moudania, Greece
Kyriaki Machera
Laboratory of Pesticides’ Toxicology, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta str., 14561 Kifissia, Greece
In 2017 and 2018, a field survey was initiated on Greek olive orchards to investigate the attractiveness of bait spray applications and the impact of cover and bait sprays applied against the olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae), on the honeybee, Apis mellifera L. and bumblebees Bombus terrestris, by investigating the pesticides’ residual prevalence. Bee colonies were evenly distributed in three sites located on coastal areas of Western Crete and visited almost weekly between July and October. Samples collected, were analyzed using existing or developed-optimized liquid and gas chromatographic methods. In bee samples, concentrations varied from 0.0013 to 2.3 mg/kg for dimethoate, from 0.0013–0.059 mg/kg for its metabolite omethoate, and from 0.0035 to 0.63 mg/kg regarding the pyrethroids, β-cyfluthrin and λ-cyhalothrin. In one bee sample dimethoate concentration exceeded both acute oral and contact median lethal dose (LD50). Residue findings in bees, along with verified olive oil residues corroborated that those insecticides had been applied in the olive orchards and transferred to bees. The possibility of non-target effects of the bait sprays to the bees, as well as the impact of the contaminated olive to the bees are discussed.
