Neonicotinoid Pesticides Are More Toxic to Honey Bees at Lower Temperatures: Implications for Overwintering Bees
The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is an important pollinator as well as an important test model for pesticide effects on other insect pollinators. Honey bees have been experiencing high mortality in both the United States and worldwide. Pesticide exposure has been identified as one of the many stressor...
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doaj-572d34713d47475ca35fcedd2388adce2020-11-25T03:34:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2020-10-01810.3389/fevo.2020.556856556856Neonicotinoid Pesticides Are More Toxic to Honey Bees at Lower Temperatures: Implications for Overwintering BeesMuhammad Shoaib Saleem0Muhammad Shoaib Saleem1Zachary Y. Huang2Meghan O. Milbrath3Department of Agriculture and Agribusiness Management, University of Karachi, Karachi, PakistanDepartment of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United StatesDepartment of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United StatesDepartment of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United StatesThe honey bee (Apis mellifera) is an important pollinator as well as an important test model for pesticide effects on other insect pollinators. Honey bees have been experiencing high mortality in both the United States and worldwide. Pesticide exposure has been identified as one of the many stressors causing this mortality. Effects of various pesticides have been measured for multiple responses such as learning, memory performance, feeding activity, and thermoregulation. These studies were conducted at many different temperatures (11–35°C); however, few studies compared toxicity of the same pesticide to bees at different temperatures. It is possible that the same pesticide might show different toxicity to honey bees at different temperatures. To reveal such potential interactions, we administered low doses of two neonicotinoid insecticides (imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) at three different temperature scenarios (35°C, 24°C, and a varying temperature) and determined the effects on honey bee survivorship. We discovered that honey bees are much more sensitive to the neonicotinoid pesticides imidacloprid and thiamethoxam at a constant 24°C or at a varying temperature (night at 13°C and day at 24°C) compared to bees at 35°C. These results suggest that honey bee colonies during winter time will be more sensitive to pesticides. Doses of neonicotinoids that are safe to colonies during summer might kill them during the winter time.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2020.556856/fulloverwintering beestemperatureneonicotinoidspesticide toxicityApis mellifera |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Muhammad Shoaib Saleem Muhammad Shoaib Saleem Zachary Y. Huang Meghan O. Milbrath |
spellingShingle |
Muhammad Shoaib Saleem Muhammad Shoaib Saleem Zachary Y. Huang Meghan O. Milbrath Neonicotinoid Pesticides Are More Toxic to Honey Bees at Lower Temperatures: Implications for Overwintering Bees Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution overwintering bees temperature neonicotinoids pesticide toxicity Apis mellifera |
author_facet |
Muhammad Shoaib Saleem Muhammad Shoaib Saleem Zachary Y. Huang Meghan O. Milbrath |
author_sort |
Muhammad Shoaib Saleem |
title |
Neonicotinoid Pesticides Are More Toxic to Honey Bees at Lower Temperatures: Implications for Overwintering Bees |
title_short |
Neonicotinoid Pesticides Are More Toxic to Honey Bees at Lower Temperatures: Implications for Overwintering Bees |
title_full |
Neonicotinoid Pesticides Are More Toxic to Honey Bees at Lower Temperatures: Implications for Overwintering Bees |
title_fullStr |
Neonicotinoid Pesticides Are More Toxic to Honey Bees at Lower Temperatures: Implications for Overwintering Bees |
title_full_unstemmed |
Neonicotinoid Pesticides Are More Toxic to Honey Bees at Lower Temperatures: Implications for Overwintering Bees |
title_sort |
neonicotinoid pesticides are more toxic to honey bees at lower temperatures: implications for overwintering bees |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
issn |
2296-701X |
publishDate |
2020-10-01 |
description |
The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is an important pollinator as well as an important test model for pesticide effects on other insect pollinators. Honey bees have been experiencing high mortality in both the United States and worldwide. Pesticide exposure has been identified as one of the many stressors causing this mortality. Effects of various pesticides have been measured for multiple responses such as learning, memory performance, feeding activity, and thermoregulation. These studies were conducted at many different temperatures (11–35°C); however, few studies compared toxicity of the same pesticide to bees at different temperatures. It is possible that the same pesticide might show different toxicity to honey bees at different temperatures. To reveal such potential interactions, we administered low doses of two neonicotinoid insecticides (imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) at three different temperature scenarios (35°C, 24°C, and a varying temperature) and determined the effects on honey bee survivorship. We discovered that honey bees are much more sensitive to the neonicotinoid pesticides imidacloprid and thiamethoxam at a constant 24°C or at a varying temperature (night at 13°C and day at 24°C) compared to bees at 35°C. These results suggest that honey bee colonies during winter time will be more sensitive to pesticides. Doses of neonicotinoids that are safe to colonies during summer might kill them during the winter time. |
topic |
overwintering bees temperature neonicotinoids pesticide toxicity Apis mellifera |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2020.556856/full |
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