Safety evaluation of certain conventional insecticides at sublethal dose to European honeybee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus

The toxicity of eight conventional insecticides viz., acephate, chlorpyriphos, dichlorvos,dimethoate, profenophos, triazophos, cypermethrin and neem oil at half of the recommended dosewas tested on honeybee Apis mellifera L using the dry film method. Foragers were released into treated jars at different intervals i.e., 0, 12 and 24 hours after dry film formation. Acephate, cypermethrin and dimethoate were found to be highly toxic to honeybees, while dichlorvos and neem oil were least toxic.