A nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist affects honey bee sucrose responsiveness and decreases waggle dancing

Eiri, Daren M.; Nieh, James C.

doi:10.1242/jeb.068718

Cited by 105 publications

(109 citation statements)

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“…For example, 20 min [17] or 60 min [23] is sufficient for orally administered imidacloprid to elicit strong effects: reduction in foraging activity and longer foraging flights [17] and reduced waggle dancing [23]. Because we allowed our bees to unload their collected sucrose solution to nestmates, it is unclear how much imidacloprid they absorbed before exchanging their collected nectar with nestmates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, sublethal doses of imidacloprid reduce olfactory [13], [20], [21] and visual [22] learning. Imidacloprid also evidently alters bee internal thresholds, elevating the sucrose response threshold and reducing waggle dancing even for very rich nectar sources [16], [23]. However, the role of imidacloprid in altering other types of decision-making remains poorly understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Imidacloprid Alters Foraging and Decreases Bee Avoidance of Predators

et al. 2014

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Concern is growing over the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides, which can impair honey bee cognition. We provide the first demonstration that sublethal concentrations of imidacloprid can harm honey bee decision-making about danger by significantly increasing the probability of a bee visiting a dangerous food source. Apis cerana is a native bee that is an important pollinator of agricultural crops and native plants in Asia. When foraging on nectar containing 40 µg/L (34 ppb) imidacloprid, honey bees (Apis cerana) showed no aversion to a feeder with a hornet predator, and 1.8 fold more bees chose the dangerous feeder as compared to control bees. Control bees exhibited significant predator avoidance. We also give the first evidence that foraging by A. cerana workers can be inhibited by sublethal concentrations of the pesticide, imidacloprid, which is widely used in Asia. Compared to bees collecting uncontaminated nectar, 23% fewer foragers returned to collect the nectar with 40 µg/L imidacloprid. Bees that did return respectively collected 46% and 63% less nectar containing 20 µg/L and 40 µg/L imidacloprid. These results suggest that the effects of neonicotinoids on honey bee decision-making and other advanced cognitive functions should be explored. Moreover, research should extend beyond the classic model, the European honey bee (A. mellifera), to other important bee species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imidacloprid Alters Foraging and Decreases Bee Avoidance of Predators

et al. 2014

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“…Imidacloprid has been most widely studied, and its adverse effects on olfactory learning and memory have been well established (Decourtye et al 2004a, b; Williamson and Wright 2013) as well as visual learning (Han et al 2010). Imidacloprid affects gustatory sensitivity to sucrose, and also impairs the ability of honeybees to perform the waggle dance (Eiri and Nieh 2012; Lambin et al 2001), perhaps suggesting that they also impair motor function. One study, on the other hand, reported that sublethal doses of imidacloprid do not impair motor function of the proboscis extension response (Ramirez-Romero et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to neonicotinoids influences the motor function of adult worker honeybees

2014

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Systemic pesticides such as neonicotinoids are commonly used on flowering crops visited by pollinators, and their use has been implicated in the decline of insect pollinator populations in Europe and North America. Several studies show that neonicotinoids affect navigation and learning in bees but few studies have examined whether these substances influence their basic motor function. Here, we investigated how prolonged exposure to sublethal doses of four neonicotinoid pesticides (imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin, dinotefuran) and the plant toxin, nicotine, affect basic motor function and postural control in foraging-age worker honeybees. We used doses of 10 nM for each neonicotinoid: field-relevant doses that we determined to be sublethal and willingly consumed by bees. The neonicotinoids were placed in food solutions given to bees for 24 h. After the exposure period, bees were more likely to lose postural control during the motor function assay and fail to right themselves if exposed to imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin. Bees exposed to thiamethoxam and nicotine also spent more time grooming. Other behaviours (walking, sitting and flying) were not significantly affected. Expression of changes in motor function after exposure to imidacloprid was dose-dependent and affected all measured behaviours. Our data illustrate that 24 h exposure to sublethal doses of neonicotinoid pesticides has a subtle influence on bee behaviour that is likely to affect normal function in a field setting.

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“…Although spring mortality is characterized by a rapid disappearance of bee colonies (a typical short-term effect), scientific efforts were in most cases based on exposure to sublethal doses of neonicotinoids, which may weaken the colonies and make them more susceptible to both common and new diseases [10,[14][15][16][17][18][19]. In fact, since Greatti et al [20] demonstrated the possible release of seed coating insecticides through the fan drain of the pneumatic drilling machine during corn sowing and hypothesized that bees are exposed to the neonicotinoid-containing particles falling off to the vegetation at the field margin, experimental results have shown that the neonicotinoid content in nectar and pollen collected from the surrounding vegetation was always around 50 ppb or lower [12,[21][22][23], whereas higher doses are necessary for an acute toxic effect [13,[16][17][18]24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

UHPLC-DAD method for the determination of neonicotinoid insecticides in single bees and its relevance in honeybee colony loss investigations

et al. 2012

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In the understanding of colony loss phenomena, a worldwide crisis of honeybee colonies which has serious consequences for both apiculture and bee-pollination-dependent farm production, analytical chemistry can play an important role. For instance, rapid and accurate analytical procedures are currently required to better assess the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on honeybee health. Since their introduction in agriculture, neonicotinoid insecticides have been blamed for being highly toxic to honeybees, possibly at the nanogram per bee level or lower. As a consequence, most of the analytical methods recently optimized have focused on the analysis of ultratraces of neonicotinoids using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques to study the effects of sublethal doses. However, recent evidences on two novel routes-seedling guttations and seed coating particulate, both associated with corn crops-that may expose honeybees to huge amounts of neonicotinoids in the field, with instantly lethal effects, suggest that selected procedures need optimizing. In the present work, a simplified ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection method for the determination of neonicotinoids in single bees has been optimized and validated. The method ensures good selectivity, good accuracy, and adequate detection limits, which make it suitable for the purpose, while maintaining its ability to evaluate exposure variability of individual bees. It has been successfully applied to the analysis of bees in free flight over an experimental sowing field, with the bees therefore being exposed to seed coating particulate released by the pneumatic drilling machine.

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A nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist affects honey bee sucrose responsiveness and decreases waggle dancing

Cited by 105 publications

References 58 publications

Imidacloprid Alters Foraging and Decreases Bee Avoidance of Predators

Imidacloprid Alters Foraging and Decreases Bee Avoidance of Predators

Exposure to neonicotinoids influences the motor function of adult worker honeybees

UHPLC-DAD method for the determination of neonicotinoid insecticides in single bees and its relevance in honeybee colony loss investigations

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