Acute Oral Toxicity of Fipronil on the Stingless Bee Frieseomelitta varia (Lepeletier, 1836)

Murion Monteiro de Godoi; Daniela Melo e Silva; Pedro Vale de Azevedo Brito

doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v72i4.10853

Authors

Murion Monteiro de Godoi Postgraduate Program in Animal Biodiversity, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9935-4228
Daniela Melo e Silva One-Health Excellence Center, Biological Sciences Institute, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0362-0988
Pedro Vale de Azevedo Brito One-Health Excellence Center, Biological Sciences Institute, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4173-9920

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v72i4.10853

Keywords:

Meliponini, Lethal Concentration, Pesticide, Insecticide, ecotoxicology

Abstract

Stingless bees are essential pollinating insects, contributing to the maintenance of biodiversity and agricultural production. However, during their foraging activity, they encounter pesticides that can harm their populations. The present study aims to evaluate the acute oral lethal concentration (LC) of fipronil in the stingless bee species Frieseomelitta varia. The LC10, LC25, and LC50 were calculated for a 48-hour period, which were 61.2, 112.2, and 219.9 ng/mL, respectively, and for the 96-hour period, which were 15.07, 29.3, and 61.33 ng/mL, respectively. The study highlights the importance of the conscious use of pesticides, as damage to pollinating insect populations can be both economically and ecologically detrimental.

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