The neonicotinoid clothianidin interferes with navigation of the solitary bee Osmia cornuta in a laboratory test

Abstract

Pollinating insects provide a vital ecosystem service to crops and wild plants. Exposure to low doses of neonicotinoid insecticides has sub-lethal effects on social pollinators such as bumblebees and honeybees, disturbing their navigation and interfering with their development. Solitary Hymenoptera are also very important ecosystem service providers, but the sub-lethal effects of neonicotinoids have not yet been studied well in those animals. We analyzed the ability of walking Osmia to remember a feeding place in a small environment and found that Osmia remembers the feeding place well after 4 days of training. Uptake of field-realistic amounts of the neonicotinoid clothianidin (0.76 ng per bee) altered the animals' sensory responses to the visual environment and interfered with the retrieval of navigational memory. We conclude that the neonicotinoid clothianidin compromises visual guidance and the use of navigational memory in the solitary bee Osmia cornuta.

Larval exposure to field-realistic concentrations of clothianidin has no effect on development rate, over-winter survival or adult metabolic rate in a solitary bee, Osmia bicornis

“…Comparative studies have found adult O. bicornis to be more sensitive to clothianidin-spiked nectar than either honeybees (Heard et al, 2017) or honeybees and bumblebees (Sgolastra et al, 2016) though effects became apparent over different time-scales. A study of the closely related O. cornuta revealed that acute exposure to clothianidin can impair navigational behaviour under laboratory conditions (Jin et al, 2015). Sandrock et al (2014) provided caged adult bees with sucrose solution spiked with thiamethoxam and clothainidin and found that females produced fewer nests, with fewer brood cells than those completed by female bees provided with uncontaminated sucrose solution.…”

A mechanistic framework to explain the immunosuppressive effects of neurotoxic pesticides on bees

“…Numerous global factors are thought to contribute to this alarming phenomenon, including habitat loss and fragmentation, suboptimal diet, diseases and the detrimental effects of sublethal, chronic pesticide exposure (Goulson, Nicholls, Botías, & Rotheray, ; Vanbergen et al, ). Besides affecting pollinator navigation abilities (Fischer et al., ; Henry et al., ; Jin, Klein, Leimig, Bischoff, & Menzel, ; Stanley, Russell, Morrison, Rogers, & Raine, ), cognitive abilities (Decourtye, Devillers, Cluzeau, Charreton, & Pham‐Delègue, ; Farooqui, ; Gauthier, ; Kessler et al., ; Piiroinen & Goulson, ; Stanley, Smith, & Raine, ; Williamson, Baker, & Wright, ; Williamson, Moffat, et al., ) and reproduction (Baron, Raine, & Brown, ; Sandrock et al., ; Whitehorn, O'Connor, Wackers, & Goulson, ), the immune suppressive effect of sublethal pesticide doses and the resulting elevated susceptibility of pollinators to pathogens (Baron et al., ; Brandt, Gorenflo, Siede, Meixner, & Büchler, ; Di Prisco et al., ; Doublet, Labarussias, de Miranda, Moritz, & Paxton, ; Fauser‐Misslin, Sadd, Neumann, & Sandrock, ; Hernández López et al., ; previous studies summarized in James & Xu, ) are of particular concern (Sánchez‐Bayo et al., ).…”

“…Assessing the impact of pesticides on pollinator health by sublethal chronic exposure requires a holistic view of the problem. In recent years, research has started to uncover the side‐effects of sublethal neonicotinoid exposure on cognitive abilities, including pollinator navigation and learning (Decourtye et al., ; Farooqui, ; Fischer et al., ; Gauthier, ; Goulson et al., ; Henry et al., ; Jin et al., ; Kessler et al., ; Piiroinen & Goulson, ; Stanley et al., , ; Williamson, Baker, et al., ; Williamson, Moffat, et al., ). A similar intensity of research effort now needs to be focused on the sublethal effects of neurotoxic pesticides on insect immunity.…”

“…navigation abilities (Fischer et al, 2014;Henry et al, 2012;Jin, Klein, Leimig, Bischoff, & Menzel, 2015;Stanley, Russell, Morrison, Rogers, & Raine, 2016), cognitive abilities (Decourtye, Devillers, Cluzeau, Charreton, & Pham-Delègue, 2004;Farooqui, 2013;Gauthier, 2010;Kessler et al, 2015;Piiroinen & Goulson, 2016;Stanley, Smith, & Raine, 2015;Williamson, Baker, & Wright, 2013;Williamson, Moffat, et al, 2013) and reproduction (Baron, Raine, & Brown, 2017;Sandrock et al, 2014;Whitehorn, O'Connor, Wackers, & Goulson, 2012), the immune suppressive effect of sublethal pesticide doses and the resulting elevated susceptibility of pollinators to pathogens (Baron et al, 2017;Brandt, Gorenflo, Siede, Meixner, & Büchler, 2016;Di Prisco et al, 2013;Doublet, Labarussias, de Miranda, Moritz, & Paxton, 2015;Fauser-Misslin, Sadd, Neumann, & Sandrock, 2014;Hernández López et al, 2017; previous studies summarized in James & Xu, 2012) are of particular concern (Sánchez- Bayo et al, 2016).…”

The Challenge: Assessment of risks posed by systemic insecticides to hymenopteran pollinators: New perception when we move from laboratory via (semi-)field to landscape scale testing?

“…Some species are specialized for certain flowers where honeybee pollination is less effective and, thus, they contribute significantly to pollination. Although some studies exist on the effects of neonicotinoids on bumblebees (e.g., Gill et al ), studies on solitary bees are sparse (e.g., Jin et al ). Because their worldwide decline is apparent, the maintenance of the biological diversity in many ecosystems is severely threatened, and immediate measures are needed to protect wild bee populations.…”