Can poisons stimulate bees? Appreciating the potential of hormesis in bee-pesticide research

Cutler, G. Christopher; Rix, Rachel R.

doi:10.1002/ps.4042

Cited by 71 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Interestingly, we see increased activity in bees exposed to pesticide in terms of the numbers of L. corniculatus flowers visited. This is similar to work showing bees visit a higher number of apple flowers when exposed to field-realistic thiamethoxam levels , a result that may be indicative of hormesis; a stimulation of biological processes at low doses (Cutler & Rix 2015). Other putative hormetic effects have been found following exposure to other neonicotinoids: imidacloprid, in combination with the acaricide coumaphos, can cause modest improvement in honeybee learning and memory (Williamson, Baker & Wright 2013) and exposure to low-levels of clothianadin can lead to improved orientation behaviour in moths (Rabhi et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Chronic exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide alters the interactions between bumblebees and wild plants

Stanley

Raine

2016

Functional Ecology

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Summary Insect pollinators are essential for both the production of a large proportion of world crops and the health of natural ecosystems. As important pollinators, bumblebees must learn to forage on flowers to feed both themselves and provision their colonies.Increased use of pesticides has caused concern over sublethal effects on bees, such as impacts on reproduction or learning ability. However, little is known about how sublethal exposure to field‐realistic levels of pesticide might affect the ability of bees to visit and manipulate flowers.We observed the behaviour of individual bumblebees from colonies chronically exposed to a neonicotinoid pesticide (10 ppb thiamethoxam) or control solutions foraging for the first time on an array of morphologically complex wildflowers (Lotus corniculatus and Trifolium repens) in an outdoor flight arena.We found that more bees released from pesticide‐treated colonies became foragers, and that they visited more L. corniculatus flowers than controls. Interestingly, bees exposed to pesticide collected pollen more often than controls, but control bees learnt to handle flowers efficiently after fewer learning visits than bees exposed to pesticide. There were also different initial floral preferences of our treatment groups; control bees visited a higher proportion of T. repens flowers, and bees exposed to pesticide were more likely to choose L. corniculatus on their first visit.Our results suggest that the foraging behaviour of bumblebees on real flowers can be altered by sublethal exposure to field‐realistic levels of pesticide. This has implications for the foraging success and persistence of bumblebee colonies, but perhaps more importantly for the interactions between wild plants and flower‐visiting insects and ability of bees to deliver the crucial pollination services to plants necessary for ecosystem functioning.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Chronic exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide alters the interactions between bumblebees and wild plants

Stanley

Raine

2016

Functional Ecology

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“…hormesis) on insects. 71,72,77,78 Overall, the results of this study suggest that care should be taken when proposing insecticides for use in sustainable IPM programs to avoid damaging the parasitoid E. formosa. In particular, a case-by-case evaluation should be carried out prior to applying any insecticide and/or releasing these parasitoids.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…71 Currently, chemical-induced hormesis has also been reported in a few beneficial insects, such as the pollinator Apis mellifera L. and predatory mite Pardosa agrestis (Araneae), but less in parasitoids. 72,73 For all insecticides tested except pyriproxyfen, the adults of E. formosa exhibited hormetic-like effects based on the numbers of hosts parasitized at different residue ages. This supports the hypothesis that stressful conditions can stimulate adults to lay more eggs as early as possible to avoid possible detrimental events in their late life period, and low extents of chemical stress can result in increased reproduction or longevity in insects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selectivity of novel and traditional insecticides used for management of whiteflies on the parasitoid Encarsia formosa

Wang

Dai

Yang

et al. 2019

Pest Management Science

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BACKGROUND Encarsia formosa Gahan is the most important parasitoid exploited for the control of whitefly pests of vegetable crops. However, the non‐target effects of recently developed insecticides for controlling whiteflies toward this biocontrol agent is little documented. Here we evaluated the susceptibility of E. formosa adults and juveniles to eight commonly used insecticides against whiteflies. RESULTS Residual toxicity tests on glass showed that E. formosa adults were susceptible (over 98% mortality after 6 h treated) to field concentrations of the tested neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, acetamiprid, nitenpyram and thiamethoxam), abamectin, cyantraniliprole, and sulfoxaflor at their field concentrations. Pyriproxyfen was harmless to both adult and pupae of E. formosa. A risk quotient analysis showed that toxicity of pyriproxyfen to E. formosa adults was the lowest, followed by acetamiprid and cyantraniliprole. In the leaf residues test, mortality of E. formosa adults under all insecticides decreased when the residue age increased. Interestingly, E. formosa experiencing contact with the residues of most insecticides, except pyriproxyfen and abamectin, parasitized significantly more hosts 5‐days after treatment, suggesting a hormetic effect on parasitism. CONCLUSION The risk assessment of insecticides indicated that pyriproxyfen and cyantraniliprole were the least toxic to E. formosa. Our results suggest that the inclusion of the insecticides in sustainable integrated pest management programs of whiteflies should be carefully evaluated on a case‐by‐case basis. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

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“…An increase in AMP expression at the doses used in this study may represent the excitatory phase of a hormetic or biphasic reaction norm4950. If this is true, then similar experiments using higher concentrations of imidacloprid are predicted to eventually lead to decreased expression of AMP-encoding genes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Chronic exposure to a neonicotinoid increases expression of antimicrobial peptide genes in the bumblebee Bombus impatiens

Simmons

Angelini

2017

Sci Rep

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Bumblebees are important pollinators in wild and agricultural settings. In recent decades pollinator declines have been linked to the effects of increased pesticide use and the spread of disease. Synergy between these factors has been suggested, but no physiological mechanism has been identified. This study examines the connection between neonicotinoid exposure and innate immune function in the bumblebee Bombus impatiens, which is an important wild and commercial pollinator in eastern North America. Experimental colonies in the field were enclosed and provided pollen and sugar syrup containing an agriculturally relevant range of imidacloprid concentrations. Bumblebees were collected from colonies over four weeks, and the expression of antimicrobial peptides was measured using multiplex quantitative real time PCR. Significant increases in the expression of abaecin, apidaecin and hymenoptaecin were found over time in treatments receiving moderate to high concentrations of the pesticide. Responses were dependent on time of exposure and dose. These results indicate that immune function in bumblebees is affected by neonicotinoid exposure and suggest a physiological mechanism by which neonicotinoids may impact the innate immune function of bumblebee pollinators in wild and agricultural habitats.

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Can poisons stimulate bees? Appreciating the potential of hormesis in bee-pesticide research

Cited by 71 publications

References 35 publications

Chronic exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide alters the interactions between bumblebees and wild plants

Chronic exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide alters the interactions between bumblebees and wild plants

Selectivity of novel and traditional insecticides used for management of whiteflies on the parasitoid Encarsia formosa

Chronic exposure to a neonicotinoid increases expression of antimicrobial peptide genes in the bumblebee Bombus impatiens

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