Journal or Publishing Institution: Növényvédelem
Study: https://web.archive.org/web/20180905165111/http://www.bdarvas.hu/tudomany/okotoxikologia/idn4004
Author(s): Darvas, B., Csóti, A., Gharib, A., Peregovits, L., Ronkay, L., Lauber, E., and Polgar, A.L.
Article Type: Report
Record ID: 445
Abstract: Risk assessment of the potential impact of Bt-corn pollen on protected Lepidoptera species in Hungary was studied. Pollination of the DK-440 BTY (event MON 810) occurs 74 – 88 day after sowing, and yielded 35 kg/hectare of pollen. The pollination of the cultivated corn varieties is in July to mid August in Hungary. Pollen density dropped under 100 pollen/cm2 at 5 m from the arable edge. Young caterpillars feeding on weeds nearly or in the cornfield might be affected. Pollen-deposition is the most effective on plants with broad, hairy and horizontal leaves. The leaf area/leaf weight ratio of the great nettle, Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) is 2,85 times higher than that of common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca L. (Asclepiadaceae), which might mean approximately 3 times higher toxin consumption at same pollen density. In Hungary, law protects 187 Lepidoptera species. 16% of them might feed on weeds growing at the edge of cornfields. We proved that Inachis io (L.) and Vanessa atalanta (L.) (Nymphalidae) might be affected by Bt-pollen. Both species feed on great nettle, a common weed in the water furrows of cornfields in Hungary. The eggs of these species hatch exactly at the time of corn pollination.
Keywords: Lepidoptera species, Bt-corn pollen, MON 810, pollination, Inachis io (L.), Vanessa atalanta (L.) (Nymphalidae), great nettle
Citation: Darvas, B., Csóti, A., Gharib, A., Peregovits, L., Ronkay, L., Lauber, É., and Polgár, L.A., 2004. Data for the risk analysis in Hungary of Bt maize pollen and larvae of protected butterfly species. Novenyvedelem, 40, 441.
