Effects of Permethrin on the Behavior of Individually Tagged Honey Bees,Apis melliferaL. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Abstract

Individually tagged honey bee foragers were treated topically with a sublethal dose of permethrin at a feeding station, and their behavior was observed inside an observation beehive. Permethrin-treated adult bees exhibited a significantly higher percentage of time in self-cleaning, trembling dance, abdomen tucking, rotating, and cleaning of abdomen while rubbing hind legs together. In contrast, untreated bees exhibited a higher percentage of time in walking, body insertion, and food giving, and made more foraging trips.