Effect of DOR BT-1 Biopesticide on Honey Bee Learning and Memory

Experimental data from olfactory conditioning assays assesses the impact of the biopesticide field spray DOR BT-1 on the learning and memory of Western honey bees (Apis mellifera). The study, conducted in the context of Southern Indian agriculture, found that high and low doses of the formulation did not affect overall cognition or higher-order odor discrimination. This dataset supports evidence-based safety assessments for Bacillus thuringiensis-based biopesticides used in field applications.

Use Cases

• Comparing cognitive performance between control and biopesticide-exposed bee groups based on assay results.
• Analyzing dose-response relationships for learning and memory metrics from the olfactory conditioning protocol.
• Benchmarking non-target insect safety for Bacillus thuringiensis toxin formulations referenced in the description.
• Supporting meta-analyses on pollinator neuroethology and agricultural chemical risk assessment.

Strengths

• Dataset is openly available under a permissive CC-BY-4.0 license, facilitating reuse.
• Focuses on a specific, understudied aspect of biopesticide safety—sub-lethal cognitive effects on a key pollinator.

Limitations

• Column names and a precise row count are not provided, limiting understanding of the data structure.
• The dataset's size (96615) is listed but its unit (e.g., bytes, rows) is ambiguous without context.
• Metadata is sparse, lacking details on experimental design, specific metrics, or the institution of the author.

Provenance

Source

Meenakshi Vengarai

Collection Method

Likely generated from laboratory-based olfactory conditioning assays on honey bees.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated March 21, 2026.

Geography

Study context is Southern India; specific experimental location is not stated.