The Efftects of DDT and Certain Other Insecticides on Alfalfa Pollinators

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Abstract
Following dusting of alfalfa in bloom there is an almost immediate decrease in the number of bees in comparison with those which were present at the same time on the previous day. This depression is followed by a build-up of population which usually requires 3 or 4 days. Coincident with the depression of the population in fields dusted with DDT, there is usually an increase in adjacent undusted sections. When honey bees are collected and caged from fields recently dusted with DDT, a large percentage of them die within 24 hrs. Large scale bee mortality under field conditions has not yet been demonstrated experimentally. Depressions in bee populations following application of insecticidal dusts may be the result of some sort of repellent action. More work is needed to determine the economic effects of such reductions.

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