Conditioning of Apis florea F. as a function of Duration of exposure to chemical vapours at Rc50 and Rc60 dilutions.

Abstract

It is likely that Apis florea workers become acclimatized to an environment continaing chemical vapours. Experiments were conducted to investigate how long linalool, terpineol and D(+)-carvone remain effective at Rc50 and Rc60 concentrations. In self-conditioning experiments, bees were fed on 30% sugar solution for 30 min, 1h, 2h, 4h and 6h and were then transferred to an atmosphere containing a chemical vapuor for the same periods. They were then exposed to a second chemical for the same periods. Rciprocal experiments were performed in each case. In selfconditioning experiments, feeding on pure sugar solutin increased with time but feeding on a mixture of sugar solution and chemical behaved similarly for 2h. In cross-conditioning, feeding on pre-exposed chemical also increased up to 2h and maintained uniformity afterwards. Same behavior was observed wehn the bees were transfered to the next chemical. It is concluded that linanool, terpineol and D(+)-carvone can hav a repellent effect to a maximum of 2h.