Effect of biopathogens on honeybees

The bio-safety of some entomopathogenic bioagents viz. Metarhizium anisopliae, Beauveria bassiana, Bacillus thuringiensis and Verticilllium lecanii, was tested in a honey bee colony by three different methods i.e. the “strip method”, the “spray method” and the “feeding method”. The bioagents were tested at 10⁸ spores/colony in strip and spray methods and 10⁷ spores in the feeding method. No significant differences were observed in brood and adult bee mortality when these biopesticides were used, whether in strip or spray form. Similarly, no significant differences were observed in the number of incoming and outgoing bees before and after the application of biopesticides whether using the strip or spray method. However, in the feeding method significant differences were observed in bee mortality under caged conditions by V. lecanii and B. bassiana according to LT₅₀ values, although no significant differences were observed with M. anisopliae.