农药对传粉昆虫的影响越来越引起人们的普遍关注。氟氯苯菊酯(Flumethrin)是一种广泛应用于控制西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）螨虫的杀螨剂，但它对蜜蜂社会行为及信息交流的影响未见深入的报道。
中科院西双版纳热带植物园谭垦博士等利用未曾接触过该杀螨剂的东方蜜蜂（Apis cerana）为材料进行了一系列实验，结果表明：在饲喂实验中，氟氯苯菊酯降低蜜蜂存活率及存活时间；氟氯苯菊酯对蜜蜂有明显的趋避效应。在蜜蜂学习实验（PER）中，氟氯苯菊酯明显降低蜜蜂的学习能力，其效应在蜂群中能持续一段时间，这些将会严重影响蜜蜂对花蜜的采集和对植物的授粉。
相关研究结果以Effect of flumethrin on survival and olfactory learning in honeybees为题在PLoS ONE上发表。（生物谷Bioon.com）
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0066295
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Effect of Flumethrin on Survival and Olfactory Learning in Honeybees
Ken Tan mail, Shuang Yang, Zhengwei Wang, Randolf Menzel
Flumethrin has been widely used as an acaricide for the control of Varroa mites in commercial honeybee keeping throughout the world for many years. Here we test the mortality of the Asian honeybee Apis cerana cerana after treatment with flumethrin. We also ask (1) how bees react to the odor of flumethrin, (2) whether its odor induces an innate avoidance response, (3) whether its taste transmits an aversive reinforcing component in olfactory learning, and (4) whether its odor or taste can be associated with reward in classical conditioning. Our results show that flumethrin has a negative effect on Apis ceranàs lifespan, induces an innate avoidance response, acts as a punishing reinforcer in olfactory learning, and interferes with the association of an appetitive conditioned stimulus. Furthermore flumethrin uptake within the colony reduces olfactory learning over an extended period of time.
