Attraction, deterrence or intoxication of bees (Apis mellifera) by plant allelochemicals

Detzel, Andreas; Wink, Michael

doi:10.1007/bf01245891

Cited by 271 publications

(306 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Nicotine can be present in both pollen and nectar of Nicotiana species (Detzel and Wink, 1993;Adler et al, 2012) but bees are more likely to be exposed through its continuing use as a botanical insecticide (Casanova et al, 2002). The lack of consistent, negative effects of nicotine on the survival of developing honeybee larvae supports previous studies showing limited effects of nicotine in sucrose solutions on survival of caged workers (Köhler et al, 2012a) and on hatching success and survival of honeybee larvae in 'minihives' maintained in enclosures (Singaravelan et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Resistance of developing honeybee larvae during chronic exposure to dietary nicotine

Human

Archer

Rand

et al. 2014

Journal of Insect Physiology

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The effects of pesticides on honeybee larvae are less understood than for adult bees, even though larvae are chronically exposed to pesticide residues that accumulate in comb and food stores in the hive. We investigated how exposure to a plant alkaloid, nicotine, affects survival, growth and body composition of honeybee larvae. Larvae of Apis mellifera scutellata were reared in vitro and fed throughout development on standard diets with nicotine included at concentrations from 0 to 1000 µg/100 g diet. Overall mortality across all nicotine treatments was low, averaging 9.8 % at the prepupal stage and 18.1 % at the whiteeyed pupal stage, but survival was significantly reduced by nicotine. The mass of prepupae and white-eyed pupae was not affected by nicotine. In terms of body composition, nicotine affected water content but did not influence either protein or lipid stores of white-eyed pupae.We attribute the absence of consistent negative effects of dietary nicotine to detoxification mechanisms in developing honeybees, which enable them to resist both natural and synthetic xenobiotics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Resistance of developing honeybee larvae during chronic exposure to dietary nicotine

Human

Archer

Rand

et al. 2014

Journal of Insect Physiology

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“…There are numerous reports of bees poisoned by secondary metabolites in nectar and pollen [6,10], and bees can incur reproductive costs when they consume these compounds [11]. However, limited evidence demonstrates that secondary metabolites can benefit bees, for example by enhancing memory and foraging efficiency [12], reducing parasite infection [13] and controlling pathogenic fungi [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secondary metabolites in floral nectar reduce parasite infections in bumblebees

et al. 2015

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The synthesis of secondary metabolites is a hallmark of plant defence against herbivores. These compounds may be detrimental to consumers, but can also protect herbivores against parasites. Floral nectar commonly contains secondary metabolites, but little is known about the impacts of nectar chemistry on pollinators, including bees. We hypothesized that nectar secondary metabolites could reduce bee parasite infection. We inoculated individual bumblebees with Crithidia bombi, an intestinal parasite, and tested effects of eight naturally occurring nectar chemicals on parasite population growth. Secondary metabolites strongly reduced parasite load, with significant effects of alkaloids, terpenoids and iridoid glycosides ranging from 61 to 81%. Using microcolonies, we also investigated costs and benefits of consuming anabasine, the compound with the strongest effect on parasites, in infected and uninfected bees. Anabasine increased time to egg laying, and Crithidia reduced bee survival. However, anabasine consumption did not mitigate the negative effects of Crithidia, and Crithidia infection did not alter anabasine consumption. Our novel results highlight that although secondary metabolites may not rescue survival in infected bees, they may play a vital role in mediating Crithidia transmission within and between colonies by reducing Crithidia infection intensities.

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“…These plants harbour a number of resistance compounds to protect from insect attack, particularly D-lupanine and its derivatives (comprising up to 3% of seed tissue by weight (Hatzold et al 1983)). Other alkaloid compounds present in various plant species are harmful to adult bees (Apis, Bombus) when administered in artificial nectar (Detzel and Wink 1993). Since D-lupanine is toxic and repellent to insects (Kordan et al 2012) it could similarly have negative effects on larval or adult bees, at individual, colony or population level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbivore Defence Compounds Occur in Pollen and Reduce Bumblebee Colony Fitness

et al. 2014

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Herbivory defence chemicals in plants can affect higher trophic levels such as predators and parasitoids, but the impact on pollinators has been overlooked. We show that defensive plant chemicals can damage pollinator fitness when expressed in pollen. Crop lupins (Lupinus species from Europe and South America) accumulate toxic quinolizidine alkaloids in vegetative tissues, conferring resistance to herbivorous pests such as aphids. We identified the alkaloid lupanine and its derivatives in lupin pollen, and then provided this compound at ecologically-relevant concentrations to queenless microcolonies of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) in their pollen to determine how foraging on these crops may impact bee colony health and fitness. Fewer males were produced by microcolonies provided with lupanine-treated pollen and they were significantly smaller than controls. This impact on males was not linked to preference as workers willingly fed lupanine-treated pollen to larvae, even though it was deleterious to colony health. Agricultural systems comprising large monocultures of crops bred for herbivore resistance can expose generalist pollinators to deleterious levels of plant compounds, and the broader environmental impacts of crop resistance must thus be considered.

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Attraction, deterrence or intoxication of bees (Apis mellifera) by plant allelochemicals

Cited by 271 publications

References 47 publications

Resistance of developing honeybee larvae during chronic exposure to dietary nicotine

Resistance of developing honeybee larvae during chronic exposure to dietary nicotine

Secondary metabolites in floral nectar reduce parasite infections in bumblebees

Herbivore Defence Compounds Occur in Pollen and Reduce Bumblebee Colony Fitness

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