The recent decline of honey bee population raises speculations from different angles. Exposure to poisoning substances is proposed as prime factor for honeybee deaths and colony reduction. Euphorbia contifolia, commonly known as “key abeba” is suspected as poisonousplant to honeybees and other animals in different regions of Ethiopia. An attempt was made to test the phytotoxic effect of this plant on honeybees in Illubabora and Jimma zones of Oromia region. Questioner survey and controlled experiment were used to assess the effect of E.contifolia on honeybees during its flowering season. Data on numberof dead adult bees and bee broods were counted at every 3hr, 4hr, 5hr, 6hr and 12hr of the day for five consecutive days. The survey result indicates that anaverage of 52% of the respondents of the two zones suspected that E. contifolia causes death and narcosis of foraging bees. In contrast, the mean mortality rate of adult and brood bees between the treatment and control group did not significantly differ (P >0.05), and no any narcosis symptom observed during the experimental test. This demonstratesthe absence of distinct toxic effect of the plant on honeybees. However, further study on the plant’s nectar and pollen active compound is recommended to reach into full understanding.
| Published in | International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology (Volume 2, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijee.20170204.12 |
| Page(s) | 145-149 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Honeybees, E. Contifolia, Toxicity, Nectar, Pollen, Narcosis
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APA Style
Alemayehu Gela, Taye Negara. (2017). Evaluating the Toxicity Effect of Euphorbia Contifolia on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) at Field Condition. International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology, 2(4), 145-149. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20170204.12
ACS Style
Alemayehu Gela; Taye Negara. Evaluating the Toxicity Effect of Euphorbia Contifolia on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) at Field Condition. Int. J. Ecotoxicol. Ecobiol. 2017, 2(4), 145-149. doi: 10.11648/j.ijee.20170204.12
AMA Style
Alemayehu Gela, Taye Negara. Evaluating the Toxicity Effect of Euphorbia Contifolia on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) at Field Condition. Int J Ecotoxicol Ecobiol. 2017;2(4):145-149. doi: 10.11648/j.ijee.20170204.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijee.20170204.12,
author = {Alemayehu Gela and Taye Negara},
title = {Evaluating the Toxicity Effect of Euphorbia Contifolia on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) at Field Condition},
journal = {International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology},
volume = {2},
number = {4},
pages = {145-149},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijee.20170204.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20170204.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijee.20170204.12},
abstract = {The recent decline of honey bee population raises speculations from different angles. Exposure to poisoning substances is proposed as prime factor for honeybee deaths and colony reduction. Euphorbia contifolia, commonly known as “key abeba” is suspected as poisonousplant to honeybees and other animals in different regions of Ethiopia. An attempt was made to test the phytotoxic effect of this plant on honeybees in Illubabora and Jimma zones of Oromia region. Questioner survey and controlled experiment were used to assess the effect of E.contifolia on honeybees during its flowering season. Data on numberof dead adult bees and bee broods were counted at every 3hr, 4hr, 5hr, 6hr and 12hr of the day for five consecutive days. The survey result indicates that anaverage of 52% of the respondents of the two zones suspected that E. contifolia causes death and narcosis of foraging bees. In contrast, the mean mortality rate of adult and brood bees between the treatment and control group did not significantly differ (P >0.05), and no any narcosis symptom observed during the experimental test. This demonstratesthe absence of distinct toxic effect of the plant on honeybees. However, further study on the plant’s nectar and pollen active compound is recommended to reach into full understanding.},
year = {2017}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Evaluating the Toxicity Effect of Euphorbia Contifolia on Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) at Field Condition AU - Alemayehu Gela AU - Taye Negara Y1 - 2017/09/26 PY - 2017 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20170204.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijee.20170204.12 T2 - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology JF - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology JO - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology SP - 145 EP - 149 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-1735 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20170204.12 AB - The recent decline of honey bee population raises speculations from different angles. Exposure to poisoning substances is proposed as prime factor for honeybee deaths and colony reduction. Euphorbia contifolia, commonly known as “key abeba” is suspected as poisonousplant to honeybees and other animals in different regions of Ethiopia. An attempt was made to test the phytotoxic effect of this plant on honeybees in Illubabora and Jimma zones of Oromia region. Questioner survey and controlled experiment were used to assess the effect of E.contifolia on honeybees during its flowering season. Data on numberof dead adult bees and bee broods were counted at every 3hr, 4hr, 5hr, 6hr and 12hr of the day for five consecutive days. The survey result indicates that anaverage of 52% of the respondents of the two zones suspected that E. contifolia causes death and narcosis of foraging bees. In contrast, the mean mortality rate of adult and brood bees between the treatment and control group did not significantly differ (P >0.05), and no any narcosis symptom observed during the experimental test. This demonstratesthe absence of distinct toxic effect of the plant on honeybees. However, further study on the plant’s nectar and pollen active compound is recommended to reach into full understanding. VL - 2 IS - 4 ER -
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