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SummaryModern agriculture often involves the use of pesticides to protect crops. These substances are harmful to target organisms (pests and pathogens). Nevertheless, they can also damage non-target animals, such as pollinators and entomophagous arthropods. It is obvious that the undesirable side effects of pesticides on the environment should be reduced to a minimum. Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) are very important organisms from an agricultural perspective and are vulnerable to pesticide-induced impacts. They contribute actively to the pollination of cultivated crops and wild vegetation, making food production possible. Of course, since Apis mellifera occupies the same ecological niche as many other species of pollinators, the loss of honey bees caused by environmental pollutants suggests that other insects may experience a similar outcome. Because pesticides can harm honey bees and other pollinators, it is important to register pesticides that are as selective as possible. In this manuscript, we describe a selection of methods used for studying pesticide toxicity/selectiveness towards Apis mellifera. These methods may be used in risk assessment schemes and in scientific research aimed to explain acute and chronic effects of any target compound on Apis mellifera. Métodos estándar para la investigación toxicológica en Apis mellifera ResumenLa agricultura moderna a menudo implica el uso de plaguicidas para proteger los cultivos. Estas sustancias son dañinas para los organismos objetivo (plagas y patógenos). Sin embargo, también pueden dañar a animales que no son objetivo, como artrópodos polinizadores y entomófagos. Obviamente los efectos secundarios indeseables de los plaguicidas sobre el medio ambiente deben ser reducidos al mínimo. Las abejas occidentales (Apis mellifera) son organismos muy importantes desde el punto de vista agrícola y son vulnerables a los impactos inducidos por los plaguicidas. Contribuyen activamente a la polinización de los cultivos y de la vegetación silvestre, lo que hace posible la producción de alimentos. Como Apis mellifera ocupa el mismo nicho ecológico que muchas otras especies de polinizadores, la pérdida de las abejas melíferas causada por contaminantes ambientales sugiere que otros insectos pueden experimentar un resultado similar. Ya que los plaguicidas pueden dañar a las abejas y a otros polinizadores, es importante registrar los plaguicidas que sean lo más selectivos posible. En este artículo, se describe una selección de los métodos utilizados para el estudio de la toxicidad y el efecto selectivo de los plaguicidas hacia Apis mellifera. Estos métodos se pueden utilizar en sistemas de evaluación de riesgo y en la investigación científica para explicar los efectos agudos y crónicos en Apis mellifera de cualquier compuesto objetivo.

There are various differences in size, behavior, and life history traits of non-Apis bee species compared with honey bees (Apis mellifera; Linnaeus, 1758). Currently, the risk assessment for bees in the international and national process of authorizing plant protection products has been based on honey bee data as a surrogate organism for non-Apis bees. To evaluate the feasibility of a semifield tunnel test for Osmia bicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) and Osmia cornuta (Latreille, 1805), a protocol was developed by the non-Apis working group of the International Commission for Plant-Pollinator Relationships, consisting of experts from authorities, academia, and industry. A total of 25 studies were performed over a 2-yr period testing a replicated control against a replicated positive control using either a dimethoate or diflubenzuron treatment. Studies were regarded to be valid, if ≥30% of released females were found to occupy the nesting units in the night/morning before the application (establishment). Thirteen studies were regarded to be valid and were analyzed further. Parameters analyzed were nest occupation, flight activity, cell production (total and per female), cocoon production (total and per female), emergence success, sex ratio, and mean weight of females and males. Dimethoate was a reliable positive control at the tested rate of 75 g a.i./ha, once >30% females had established, displaying acute effects such as reduction in flight activity, increase in adult mortality (shown by nest occupation), and reproduction ability of the females (total cell and cocoon production). On the other hand, no effects on larval and pupal development were observed. The growth regulator diflubenzuron had statistically significant effects on brood development, causing mortality of eggs and larvae at a rate of approximately 200 g a.i./ha, whereas fenoxycarb did not cause any significant effects at the tested rates of 300 and 600 g a.i./ha. In conclusion, the ring-test protocol proved to be adequate once the study comprised a well-established population of female Osmia bees, and the results improved in the second year as the laboratories increased their experience with the test organism. It is noted that the success of This article includes online-only Supplemental Data. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

RESULTS Egg morphologyEggs of M. rufiventris, M. uralensis and M. scabriusculus are orange-yellow, rounded at both ends, and Eur. J. Entomol. 101: 313-322, 2004 ISSN 1210 Description of the first instar larvae of three species of Meloe with a key to the triungulins of Central European species of this genus (Coleoptera: Meloidae)