Behavioral response of two species of stingless bees and the honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) to GF-120.

We present the results of evaluating the response of three species of bees, Trigona fulviventris (Guérin), Scaptotrigona mexicana (Guérin-Meneville), and Apis mellifera (L.), to food sources baited with the toxic bait GF-120 (NF Naturalyte), a spinosad-based bait exclusively used to manage fruit flies. Groups of foragers were trained to collect honey and water from a feeder located 50 m from the colonies. Once a sufficient number of foragers were observed at the experimental location, the training feeder was changed to two or three feeders that offered either honey and water, GF-120, Captor (hydrolyzed protein), GF-120 and honey (4:6), or Captor and honey (1:19). T fulviventris and S. mexicana rarely visited GF-120, Captor, or their mixtures with honey, while approximately 28.5 and 1.5% of A. mellifera foragers visited the GF-120 and honey and Captor and honey mixtures, respectively. Our results show that GF-120 clearly repels T. fulviventris and S. mexicana, whereas for A. mellifera, repellence is not as marked when GF-120 is combined with highly nutritious substances like honey.