scholarly journals Low dose of neonicotinoid insecticide reduces foraging motivation of bumblebees

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1883) ◽  
pp. 20180506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juho Lämsä ◽  
Erno Kuusela ◽  
Juha Tuomi ◽  
Sini Juntunen ◽  
Phillip C. Watts
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Low Dose ◽  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Sugar Solution ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Pollinator Decline ◽  
Flower Colours ◽  
Neonicotinoid Insecticide ◽  
Yellow Orange

Widespread use of neonicotinoid insecticides, such as imidacloprid, is often associated with diminishing populations of bees; this loss of pollinators presents a concern for food security and may cause unpredictable changes in ecological networks. However, little is known about the potential behavioural mechanisms behind the neonicotinoid-associated pollinator decline. We quantified the effects of low-dose (1 ppb) imidacloprid exposure on the foraging behaviour of bumblebees ( Bombus terrestris ). Individual bumblebees were released into a flight arena containing three patches of robotic flowers whose colour (yellow, orange, blue) indicated whether the flower delivered a reward (sugar solution). Exposure to imidacloprid had no significant effect on measures of bumblebee physical performance (such as flight speed) or learning (identifying rewarding flowers). However, pesticide-treated bumblebees had reduced foraging motivation compared with the control bumblebees, as they visited fewer robotic flowers, were slower to start foraging and did not visit all three flower colours as often. Neonicotinoid concentrations of 1 ppb, often reported in plant nectar near agricultural lands, can thus affect the foraging behaviour of bumblebees. Even without a notable impact on flight performance and learning, a reduction in foraging motivation could explain the poor performance of colonies of bumblebees exposed to neonicotinoids.

scholarly journals The Effect of Neonicotinoid Insecticide and Fungicide on Sugar Responsiveness and Orientation Behavior of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) in Semi-Field Conditions

Insects ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingchuan Jiang ◽  
Zhengwei Wang ◽  
Qibao He ◽  
Qiongqiong Liu ◽  
Xinyang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Conditions ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Orientation Behavior ◽  
Pollinator Decline ◽  
Y Maze ◽  
First Choice ◽  
Crop Field ◽  
Neonicotinoid Insecticide ◽  
Flower Odor

Neonicotinoid insecticides are in widespread use around the world, cause pollinator decline. We used semi-field conditions to determine the effect of sublethal insecticide, thiamethoxam, exposure on orientation behavior and sugar responsiveness. Bees could not reject the non-treated flower or the insecticide or insecticide/fungicide treated flower. After bees consumed the insecticide or insecticide/fungicide treated nectar, they could not discriminate between a flower odor or blank control in a Y-maze when making a first choice. We also found that treated bees wander back and forth in both arms to make a final decision about food location, and used longer duration in the Y maze than the control group. Sugar responsiveness was also reduced after bees were fed with insecticide or insecticide/fungicide treated food, one week was needed for them to display the same level of responsiveness as the control group. The thiamethoxam or thiamethoxam/carbendazol treated crop field does not act as an olfactory repellent to the bee, but it does affect its post-consumption behavior.

scholarly journals The evolution of avian wing shape and previously unrecognized trends in covert feathering

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1816) ◽  
pp. 20151935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Wang ◽  
Julia A. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Wing Shape ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Linear Measurements ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Wing Tip ◽  
Plastic Character

Avian wing shape has been related to flight performance, migration, foraging behaviour and display. Historically, linear measurements of the feathered aerofoil and skeletal proportions have been used to describe this shape. While the distribution of covert feathers, layered over the anterior wing, has long been assumed to contribute to aerofoil properties, to our knowledge no previous studies of trends in avian wing shape assessed their variation. Here, these trends are explored using a geometric–morphometric approach with landmarks describing the wing outline as well as the extent of dorsal and ventral covert feathers for 105 avian species. We find that most of the observed variation is explained by phylogeny and ecology but shows only a weak relationship with previously described flight style categories, wing loading and an investigated set of aerodynamic variables. Most of the recovered variation is in greater primary covert feather extent, followed by secondary feather length and the shape of the wing tip. Although often considered a plastic character strongly linked to flight style, the estimated ancestral wing morphology is found to be generally conservative among basal parts of most major avian lineages. The radiation of birds is characterized by successive diversification into largely distinct areas of morphospace. However, aquatic taxa show convergence in feathering despite differences in flight style, and songbirds move into a region of morphospace also occupied by basal taxa but at markedly different body sizes. These results have implications for the proposed inference of flight style in extinct taxa.

scholarly journals Experience in Rearing Common Carder Bees (Bombus pascuorum Scop.), with Some Notes on Three Similar Species: Shrill Carder Bee (B. sylvarum L.), Red-shanked Carder Bee (B. ruderarius Müll.), and Brown-banded Carder Bee (B. humilis Ill.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 1535-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimír Ptáček ◽  
Alena Votavová ◽  
Olga Komzáková
Keyword(s):  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Vegetation Period ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Colony Development ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Sugar Solution ◽  
Rearing Method ◽  
Small Plastic ◽  
Fresh Pollen ◽  
New Generation

The rearing method under controlled conditions known for Bombus terrestris was successful in initiating egg-laying for 83% of B. pascuorum queens. After larvae had hatched, fresh pollen pellets needed to be inserted into brood pockets daily. After the first workers had emerged, colony development was advanced by placing them outdoors and supplying them with a sugar solution and pollen. The bees were able to use tightly pressed pollen from small plastic pots inserted near the brood. This feeding resulted in large colonies that produced dozens of young queens. In contrast, colonies managed in the laboratory were unable to utilize pollen in a similar manner. They raised only a few workers and several queens. Mating young queens was easy. It was stimulated by daylight, but in the case of B. humilis by direct sunshine. Several B. pascuorum and B. sylvarum queens were overwintered and began the new generation under artificial conditions. However, a lack of fresh pollen limited the development of colonies outside of the vegetation period.

Does repeat low-dose oral exposure to acetamiprid (neonicotinoid insecticide) during gestation alter the physiology of the triad mother- placenta- fetus in the rat?

Placenta ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
pp. e112
Author(s):  
Paula C. Kandel Gambarte ◽  
Victoria Longoni ◽  
Martín Viale ◽  
Marcelo J. Wolansky ◽  
María G. Rovedatti
Keyword(s):  
Low Dose ◽  
Oral Exposure ◽  
Neonicotinoid Insecticide ◽  
Dose Oral

scholarly journals Temperature sensitive effects of the neonicotinoid clothianidin on bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) foraging behaviour

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 138-152
Author(s):  
Pawel Jan Kolano ◽  
Malin Røyset Aarønes ◽  
Katrine Borgå ◽  
Anders Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Natural Experiments ◽  
Bout Duration ◽  
Custom Made

Pollinating insects are an inherent part of most terrestrial ecosystems as they provide a crucial service for most angiosperms, including numerous important crops. A decrease in pollinator populations can therefore have severe consequences for both natural ecosystems and agricultural yields. Pesticide usage has been pointed out as one of the drivers behind pollinator declines. Globally, neonicotinoids are one of the most commonly used insecticides and studies have shown that exposure at sub-lethal levels can alter foraging behaviour, ultimately negatively affecting survival.Using a custom-made bumblebee colony monitoring system, we examined how the number and duration of foraging bouts of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) on an individual level, and hive growth rate, was affected by exposure to low (6.5 µg/L) and high (10.6 µg/L) sub-lethal concentrations of the neonicotinoid clothianidin via nectar. We also examined possible interaction between clothianidin exposure and abiotic factors (temperature and precipitation), and its impact on foraging bout number and duration.Exposure to sublethal concentrations of clothianidin increased foraging bout duration in bumblebees. Furthermore, the foraging bout duration decreased with increasing temperature at both exposure concentrations, whereas the unexposed control group was not affected by temperature. Neither number of foraging bouts nor the daily rhythm of foraging bout duration was affected by clothianidin exposure or temperature. The foraging bout duration decreased with increasing precipitation in both exposed and non-exposed groups. However, we did not find any interaction between precipitation and exposure, suggesting that precipitation does not affect toxicity.Our study shows the importance of semi-natural experiments and accounting for ambient factors when assessing the risk that pesticide exposure may present to pollinators. We conclude that the effect of clothianidin exposure on bumblebee foraging behaviour is temperature sensitive and that local climatic conditions and future climate change scenarios should be considered in risk assessments of clothianidin and other insecticides. 

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