Toxicity of some insecticides to the haemocytes of giant honeybee, Apis dorsata F. under laboratory conditions

Quantitative studies concerning total and differential haemocyte counts and abnormalities were performed under laboratory conditions for larvae, pupae and adults collected from a wild Apis dorsata colony. Haemolymph samples were observed immediately, thirty and sixty minutes after field recommended concentration exposure of five different insecticides. Total haemocyte counts were significantly higher for larvae and pupae but less for adult bees, however, differential haemocyte counts insignificantly different. Exposure of insecticides showed variable response for tested insecticides with immediate increased change with ethofenprox, diafenthiuron and imidacloprid but decreased for all tested insecticides after sixty minutes. For differential haemocyte counts, plasmatocytes and granulocytes increased with exposure of insecticides. Immune response of haemocytes against insecticides showed different degrees of abnormalities like agglutination, denucleation and cell shape distortion. Such studies may help in possible identification of insect defense mechanisms against their exposure to external hazards for instance insecticide exposure.