Mechanism for the differential toxicity of neonicotinoid insecticides in the honey bee, Apis mellifera

Laboratory bioassays were conducted to determine the contact honey bee toxicity of commercial and candidate neonicotinoid insecticides. The nitro-substituted compounds were the most toxic to the honey bee in our laboratory studies with LD50 values of 18 ng/bee for imidacloprid, 22 ng for clothianidin, 30 ng for thiamethoxam, 75 ng for dinotefuran and 138 ng for nitenpyram. The cyano-substituted neonicotinoids exhibited a much lower toxicity with...