Abstract

Apis mellifera bees that forage in agricultural fields may be exposed to pesticides through many routes. One of them is the collection of pollen contaminated with insecticides. In this study, we evaluate the mortality of adult honeybees exposed to pollen from cotton plants whose seeds were treated with insecticides thiamethoxam, clothianidin, imidacloprid and fipronil, and the pollen collection capacity of adult honeybees in cotton fields. Bee mortality based on linear regression analysis showed significant differences, but no differences were noted among treatments. According to the contrast analysis of the mean groups of insecticides against the mean of the control group, no significant differences were found, indicating a natural mortality for all treatments including the control. Quantitative analysis of the pollen revealed the presence of only cotton pollen grains on bees, indicating floral fidelity of Africanized honeybees. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was positive, but statistically insignificant, for increase in pollen collection with time.

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