Avaliação do comportamento e do perfil bioquímico de abelhas africanizadas (Apis mellifera Lepeletier) expostas ao herbicida glifosato por ingestão

Abstract

The increasing use of pesticides in production systems as a way to eliminate pests or weeds has impacted the survival of pollinating insects of these crops. Among these, bees have been the most harmed, and there have been reports of alarming declines in the number of colonies around the world. With the increasing use of glyphosate-based herbicides, there is a need to assess the impacts of this pesticide on bees, as bees are responsible for pollinating 73% of the world’s cultivated vegetables and their disappearance can cause serious damage. the economy. The objective of this research was to evaluate the behavioral and biochemical alterations resulting from the ingestion exposure of Africanized bees to glyphosate active ingredient. The research was conducted at the Animal Genetics and Bee Breeding Laboratory of the Department of Zootechnics of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (DZ / UFRPE), and was divided into two stages: 1 - Preliminary bioassay with exposure time of 6 hours; and 2 - Bioassay with 24 hours of exposure. The experiments were performed in triplicate, totaling the use of 90 worker bees in both stages. During the experiments, the bees were kept in a climate-controlled environment with an average temperature of 23.9 ± 0.8 ° C and 50% humidity, distributed in three treatments, forming the following groups: T1 (control) - 1: 1 60 sucrose and 60 mL distilled water, T2: 960 μL glyphosate added to 120 mL syrup (1: 1 60 g sucrose and 60 mL distilled water), and T3: 1,920 μL glyphosate added to 120 mL syrup (1: 1 60 g sucrose and 60 ml distilled water). The commercial product used was Roundup®, using the minimum dose indicated by the manufacturer. Bees’ behavior was observed every 30 minutes. The biochemical analyzes performed were related to lipid, total sugar, glycogen and protein content. Behavioral alterations are observed after 2h of exposure, showing as desorientation and lethargy behavior as controls T2 and T3 bees, differing statistically from T1 control. The first bee deaths occur at T2 and T3 within the first 6 hours of the experiment. In the biochemical analysis used, glycogen and sugars values are reduced, totaling the effects of glyphosate inclusion (T2 and T3), differing from the use of treatment control. The protein and lipid values did not present statistically significant difference between the three treated. It was concluded that an ingestion of glyphosate caused behavioral changes and biochemical parameters of Africanized bees.