Acute toxicity of Siltac EC to the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Various types of pesticides are commonly used in modern agriculture. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are sensitive indicators of environmental contamination with these substances. Exposure of honey bees to pesticides can lead to changes in their behaviour and increase mortality, so it is important to develop alternative formulations to common (‘chemical’) pesticides. The recently developed preparation Siltac EC (patent no. WO 2016/061259) shows promise as an effective substitute. It is based on a physical interaction with the pest and does not contain chemicals classified as pesticides. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the toxicity of Siltac EC to adult honey bee workers. The experiments showed that both contact and oral acute toxicity were very low, and that the preparation can preliminarily be considered safe for honey bees.