Field-level clothianidin exposure affects bumblebees but generally not their pathogens

Wintermantel, Dimitry; Locke, Barbara; Andersson, Georg K.S.; Semberg, Emilia; Forsgren, Eva; Osterman, Julia; Pedersen, Thorsten Rahbek; Bommarco, Riccardo; Smith, Henrik G.; Rundlöf, Maj; Miranda, Joachim R. de

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-07914-3

Cited by 49 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…More significantly, exposure to the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam led to a large reduction in queen cell production, with colonies of treatments NFM, NPF, NPM and NPFM producing 40%, 60%, 76% and 72% fewer queen cells than control colonies. These findings are consistent with previous studies that reported a decrease in queen production when bumblebee colonies were exposed to neonicotinoids (Fauser‐Misslin et al., 2014; Rundlöf et al., 2015; Whitehorn et al., 2012; Wintermantel et al., 2018; Woodcock et al., 2017). The fitness of a bumblebee colony is determined by its production of new queens and males (Goulson, 2010), so the fact that colonies exposed to field‐relevant mixtures containing pyrethroids and neonicotinoids, and especially the latter, produced fewer males and queens, may lead to the most serious effects on bumblebees through detrimental consequences at the population level.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Multiple stressors interact to impair the performance of bumblebee Bombus terrestris colonies

Botías

Jones

Pamminger

et al. 2020

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Bumblebees are constantly exposed to a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses which they must defend themselves against to survive. Pathogens and pesticides represent important stressors that influence bumblebee health, both when acting alone or in combination. To better understand bumblebee health, we need to investigate how these factors interact, yet experimental studies to date generally focus on only one or two stressors. The aim of this study is to evaluate how combined effects of four important stressors (the gut parasite Nosema ceranae, the neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam, the pyrethroid insecticide cypermethrin and the EBI fungicide tebuconazole) interact to affect bumblebees at the individual and colony levels. We established seven treatment groups of colonies that we pulse exposed to different combinations of these stressors for 2 weeks under laboratory conditions. Colonies were subsequently placed in the field for 7 weeks to evaluate the effect of treatments on the prevalence of N. ceranae in inoculated bumblebees, expression levels of immunity and detoxification‐related genes, food collection, weight gain, worker and male numbers, and production of worker brood and reproductives. Exposure to pesticide mixtures reduced food collection by bumblebees. All immunity‐related genes were upregulated in the bumblebees inoculated with N. ceranae when they had not been exposed to pesticide mixtures, and bumblebees exposed to the fungicide and the pyrethroid were less likely to have N. ceranae. Combined exposure to the three‐pesticide mixture and N. ceranae reduced bumblebee colony growth, and all treatments had detrimental effects on brood production. The groups exposed to the neonicotinoid insecticide produced 40%–76% fewer queens than control colonies. Our findings show that exposure to combinations of stressors that bumblebees frequently come into contact with have detrimental effects on colony health and performance and could therefore have an impact at the population level. These results also have significant implications for current practices and policies for pesticide risk assessment and use as the combinations tested here are frequently applied simultaneously in the field. Understanding the interactions between different stressors will be crucial for improving our ability to manage bee populations and for ensuring pollination services into the future.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Multiple stressors interact to impair the performance of bumblebee Bombus terrestris colonies

Botías

Jones

Pamminger

et al. 2020

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…Another study related to the effects of neonicotinoids on the body in general and intestinal microbiomes in particular, was an experiment with Bombus terrestris [92]. A relationship was found between the effects of clothianidin on the microbial composition of the intestine, both at the individual level and at the colony level.…”

Section: Microbiome Of Bumblebees and Honey Bees And The Impact Of Pementioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Pesticides on the Microbiome of Animals

et al. 2020

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In recent decades an increase in the use of pesticides to protect plants from pests, diseases and weeds has been observed. There are many studies on the effects of various pesticides on non-target organisms. This review aims to analyze and summarize published scientific data on the effects of pesticides on the animal microbiome. Pesticides can affect various parameters of the animal microbiome, such as the taxonomic composition of bacteria, bacterial biodiversity, and bacterial ratios and modify the microbiome of various organisms from insects to mammals. Pesticide induced changes in the microbiome reducing the animal’s immunity. The negative effects of pesticides could pose a global problem for pollinators. Another possible negative effect of pesticides is the impact of pesticides on the intestinal microbiota of bumblebees and bees that increase the body’s sensitivity to pathogenic microflora, which leads to the death of insects. In addition, pesticides can affect vitality, mating success and characteristics of offspring. The review considers methods for correcting of bee microbiome.

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“…Hence, for the past two decades, they have been widely used for plant protection and animal health care ( 3 ). However, adverse actions of neonicotinoids on bee behavior, colony size, and queen production have been demonstrated ( 6 – 13 ). Their intensive use also correlates with reduced numbers of insectivorous birds ( 14 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Cofactor-enabled functional expression of fruit fly, honeybee, and bumblebee nicotinic receptors reveals picomolar neonicotinoid actions

Ihara

Furutani

Shigetou

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The difficulty of achieving robust functional expression of insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) has hampered our understanding of these important molecular targets of globally deployed neonicotinoid insecticides at a time when concerns have grown regarding the toxicity of this chemotype to insect pollinators. We show that thioredoxin-related transmembrane protein 3 (TMX3) is essential to enable robust expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes of honeybee (Apis mellifera) and bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) as well as fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) nAChR heteromers targeted by neonicotinoids and not hitherto robustly expressed. This has enabled the characterization of picomolar target site actions of neonicotinoids, findings important in understanding their toxicity.

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Field-level clothianidin exposure affects bumblebees but generally not their pathogens

Cited by 49 publications

References 70 publications

Multiple stressors interact to impair the performance of bumblebee Bombus terrestris colonies

Multiple stressors interact to impair the performance of bumblebee Bombus terrestris colonies

The Effect of Pesticides on the Microbiome of Animals

Cofactor-enabled functional expression of fruit fly, honeybee, and bumblebee nicotinic receptors reveals picomolar neonicotinoid actions

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