An Examination of Exposure Routes of Fluvalinate to Larval and Adult Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)

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Abstract
Fluvalinate has been extensively used in the United States to combat honey bee colony loss due to Varroa destructor mites. The objectives of the current research project were to investigate the extent of fluvalinate contamination in commercially available wax and to define exposure pathways to larval and adult honey bees. All of the commercial wax tested contained elevated fluvalinate concentrations, indicating a need for regulation of the sources of wax being rendered for resale. Based on the negative logarithm of the partition coefficient between wax and pollen (‐0.54), it is evident that fluvalinate has the potential to actively transfer from the contaminated wax into hive matrices. This was confirmed by adding fluvalinate‐dosed wax, fluvalinate‐impregnated strips, or a combination of the two to hives. Larvae and adult bees were checked for fluvalinate exposure using gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry analysis. Larvae had detectable concentrations of fluvalinate in all treatments. Bioaccumulation in adult bees was significantly affected by the interaction between treatment type and application time. In other words, residues were comparable from hives that only had fluvalinate‐dosed wax to those that were actively being treated, suggesting that transfer of fluvalinate from wax into adult bees was an important exposure route. In conclusion, exposure of fluvalinate from contaminated wax and treatment strips to honey bees needs to be considered when evaluating risk for colony loss in hives.

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