Cytotoxic effects on the midgut, hypopharyngeal, glands and brain of Apis mellifera honey bee workers exposed to chronic concentrations of lambda-cyhalothrin.

The honeybee, Apis mellifera is economically important for its products (honey, wax, and propolis) and for its role in pollination. This insect is threated due to high population losses in both agriculture and beekeeping. Within causes involved in the loss of honeybees is the increased pesticide use on agriculture. Although current testing for the regularization of insecticide use considers its acute toxic effects on pollinators, little is known about the effects of chronic exposure to sublethal concentrations that may persist in the environment. This study investigated the effect of chronic exposure to sublethal concentrations of lambda-cyhalothrin on the midgut, hypopharyngeal glands, and brain of A. mellifera. Honey bees were fed for eight days with LC50/100 insecticide. Subsequently, the midgut, hypopharyngeal glands, and brain were analyzed in light and transmission electron microscopies. The midgut was not affected after exposure, except in the posterior region with cell fragments in the lumen and changes in the mitochondria. The hypopharyngeal glands were severely affected by the insecticide with changes in the rough endoplasmic reticulum and cell death. The brain has extensive gaps in the neuropil as well as in the cellular bodies, especially in the corpora pedunculata. These resembled cellular alterations similar to those seen in death processes. The results of this study indicate that lambda-cyhalothrin is toxic to bees at sublethal concentrations and ingested chronically, causing damage to the midgut, hypopharyngeal glands, and brain, and may affect physiological and behavioral aspects of these insects.