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Managed populations of the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) support the production of a global food supply. This important role in modern agriculture has rendered honey bees vulnerable to the noxious effects of anthropogenic stressors such as pesticides. Although the deleterious outcomes of lethal pesticide exposure on honey bee health and perfo...
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... sources of variation may stem from differences in age (young, nurse-age workers versus older, foraging-age workers), genotype (natural variation as well as apicultural strains), caste (workers, queens, drones), or life stage (larvae versus adults) ( Rinkevich et al., 2015;Tosi and Nieh, 2019). A cursory comparison between adult-and larvalderived LD 50 values suggests strong biological variance from life stages ( Table 3). A detailed dataset of all LD 50 values collected for this manuscript can be found in Supplementary Table S1. ...Similar publications
Apiculture has shown considerable development in honey bee rearing, and honey and other byproducts manufacturing that lead to an increase in pollination and conservation of the ecosystem. Precision apiculture (PA) is an apiary management strategy based on the monitoring of individual bee colony using a set of instrumentation to minimize resource co...
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... During respiration process for honey bees, the respiratory spiracles that are found along the thorax and abdomen of adult honeybee is considered as the only minor route of pesticide uptake. However, these modes of exposure cause accumulation of pesticide in honeybees and ultimately leading to honey or leading to bioaccumulation of pesticides throughout the hive (Chmiel et al., 2020). In order to assess any potential health risks and to ensure the quality of honey as food do not gets compromised. ...
... Pesticides has been reported to negatively affect honeybees in several ways for example detoxification and metabolic processes in bees, motor function, cognition and behavior, reproduction and development, and honeybee immunity (Chmiel et al., 2020). Thus, looking at the negative consequences of pesticides not only on the honeybees, but also the deleterious health consequences on the users of honey laced with toxic pesticides. ...
... This method improved honeybee immunity, which becomes impaired by sub-lethal pesticide exposure, and hence, supplementation with probiotics is regarded as a replacement for antibiotic use which could reduce the pathogen burden. Further, the use of probiotics has been suggested to improve the development of bee's colony development, which have significantly fallen due to the exposure to various types of pesticides (Chmiel et al., 2020;Daisley and Trinder, 2017). ...
Honey is the most recognized natural food by-product of flower nectar and the upper aero-digestive tract of the honeybees. Significance of honey for its medicinal importance are well-documented in the world's oldest medical literatures. However, the current urbanization, environmental contaminations and changes in agricultural, as well as apiculture practices has led to various types of contaminations in honey. Among all, pesticide contamination has become one of the major issues worldwide. This review focuses on the recent updates concerning pesticides occurrence in honey, as well as how the repeated use and long-term exposure to honey contaminated with pesticide residues could affect the human physiological functions, possibly leading to the development of various cancers. Our findings suggests that uncontrolled use of pesticides in farming and apiculture practices leads to the occurrence of pesticides residues in honey. Therefore, regular consumption of such honey will pose a serious threat to human health, since most of the pesticides has been reported as potential carcinogens. This review will draw the attention of honey consumers, scientific communities, apiculture farmers, as well as governing bodies to strictly monitor the pesticide usage in floriculture, agriculture as well as other related practices.
... A major drawback to either method is that only adult bees directly consume the product, meaning that distribution throughout the brood chamber (where many larval pathogens exist) is primarily reliant on nutrient flux between nurse bees (which directly consume the product) and larvae (which are fed by nurse bees via trophallaxis) in the hive [21]. One way to ensure physical dispersion through the brood chamber could be through dusting of hive frames with freeze-dried bacteria [23]. From a practical perspective though, this would be time-consuming alongside concerns of clumping and uneven distribution. ...
Managed honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) populations play a crucial role in supporting pollination of food crops but are facing unsustainable colony losses, largely due to rampant disease spread within agricultural environments. While mounting evidence suggests that select lactobacilli strains (some being natural symbionts of honey bees) can protect against multiple infections, there has been limited validation at the field-level and few methods exist for applying viable microorganisms to the hive. Here, we compare how two different delivery systems—standard pollen patty infusion and a novel spray-based formulation—affect supplementation of a three-strain lactobacilli consortium (LX3). Hives in a pathogen-dense region of California are supplemented for 4 weeks and then monitored over a 20-week period for health outcomes. Results show both delivery methods facilitate viable uptake of LX3 in adult bees, although the strains do not colonize long-term. Despite this, LX3 treatments induce transcriptional immune responses leading to sustained decreases in many opportunistic bacterial and fungal pathogens, as well as selective enrichment of core symbionts including Bombilactobacillus , Bifidobacterium , Lactobacillus , and Bartonella spp. These changes are ultimately associated with greater brood production and colony growth relative to vehicle controls, and with no apparent trade-offs in ectoparasitic Varroa mite burdens. Furthermore, spray-LX3 exerts potent activities against Ascosphaera apis (a deadly brood pathogen) likely stemming from in-hive dispersal differences, whereas patty-LX3 promotes synergistic brood development via unique nutritional benefits. These findings provide a foundational basis for spray-based probiotic application in apiculture and collectively highlight the importance of considering delivery method in disease management strategies.
... Contact LD 50 values were substituted when oral LD 50 values were not available. Larval LD 50 values for insecticides were collected from Chmiel et al. (2020), which reported median toxicity values calculated from those reported in the literature; not all of these underlying studies used standardized methodology, thus these data are likely to be more variable than the adult toxicity values. Toxicity values used for detected pesticides are listed in the Supplementary Data (Multimedia Component 2). ...
Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are one of the most important managed pollinators of agricultural crops. While potential effects of agricultural pesticides on honey bee health have been investigated in some settings, risks to honey bees associated with exposures occurring in the plant nursery setting have received little attention. We sought to identify and quantify pesticide levels present in honey bee-collected pollen harvested in two ornamental plant nurseries (i.e., Nursery A and Nursery B) in Connecticut. From June to September 2018, pollen was collected weekly from 8 colonies using bottom-mounted pollen traps. Fifty-five unique pesticides (including related metabolites) were detected: 24 insecticides, 20 fungicides, and 11 herbicides. Some of the pesticide contaminants detected in the pollen had not been applied by the nurseries, indicating that the honey bee colonies did not exclusively forage on pollen at their respective nursery. The average number of pesticides per sample was similar at both nurseries (i.e., 12.9 at Nursery A and 14.2 at Nursery B). To estimate the potential risk posed to honey bees from these samples, we utilized the EPA's BeeREX tool to calculate risk quotients (RQs) for each pesticide within each sample. The median aggregate RQ for nurse bees, was 0.003 at both nurseries, well below the acute risk level of concern (LOC) of ≥0.4. We also calculated RQs for larvae due to their increased sensitivity to certain pesticides. In total, 6 samples had larval RQs above the LOC (0.45-2.51), resulting from the organophosphate insecticide diazinon. Since 2015, the frequency and amount of diazinon detected in pollen increased at one of our study locations, potentially due to pressure to reduce the use of neonicotinoid insecticides. Overall, these data highlight the importance of considering all life stages when estimating potential risk to honey bee colonies from pesticide exposure.
... Many of these applied pesticides have been detected in honey bee colonies (e.g. Chauzat et al., 2006) where they cause sublethal or lethal effects (Tosi and Nieh, 2019;Chmiel et al., 2020), but chronic or toxic effects on wild bees under field conditions remain largely unknown (cf. Woodcock et al., 2016;Arce et al., 2018;Tosi et al., 2022). ...
In the past centuries, farmland has undergone a fundamental transformation through changed farming practices, such as the use of agrochemicals and advanced machine processing. Particularly since the 1970s, agriculturally driven land-use change has caused destruction of natural and semi-natural habitats, and as a consequence, severe loss of biodiversity. Hence, identifying landscape patterns and habitats that enhance species richness, and detecting species and traits that are most vulnerable to intensive land-use are prerequisites for conservation. To evaluate the effects of agricultural land-use and landscape composition on wild bees, we investigated 340 cross- transects in 34 test areas in the main agricultural regions of Austria within the framework of the biodiversity monitoring program BINATS. Using multivariate models (GLM, DCA), wild bees and potential explanatory pa- rameters (e.g. Shannon landscape diversity index, plant diversity, flower cover) were documented, and their interrelationships analyzed. We found strong negative effects of increased agricultural land cover on species richness, abundance and functional richness. Species richness was positively correlated with an increasing area of semi-natural elements (e.g. extensive grassland, hedgerows, fallows) and the number of different habitat types, while wild bee abundance was best explained by the presence of semi-natural habitats and flower cover. Col- letidae were significantly associated with the area of semi-natural elements, and were especially sensitive to agricultural intensification. Many species from communities that are present in complex landscapes disappeared in intensively managed farmland, and the majority of species decreased in response to simplified landscapes. A few species, however, even benefited. Our results emphasize the importance of diverse semi-natural elements and high regional flower cover within farmland for maintaining and enhancing species richness and abundance, and for promoting a positive spillover effect of pollinators to the surrounding agricultural landscape. Especially members of the family Colletidae, with a high proportion of specialized species, will benefit from diverse semi- natural habitat types. Given the unique importance of wild bees as pollinators of wildflowers and crops, it is crucial to improve and expand agri-environmental schemes to combat ongoing biodiversity loss in farmland.
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1g%7EqvcA-InxIE
... It has been shown that even extremely low doses or concentrations can affect the physiology, neurology, metabolism, and/or behavior of honeybees sub-lethally [17]. Due to the sub-lethal consequences, the colony may suffer, as the hive may gradually become less populated [18,19]. Additionally, these acaricides are nowadays less effective due to the development of resistance phenomena. ...
Simple Summary
The western honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) is one of the most valuable insect species. However, several biological stressors pose a threat to this pollinating insect. Among these, the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is currently the most significant concern. In this paper, we offer an updated analysis of the literature on the use of essential oils (EO) to fight against V. destructor. Numerous aromatic plants have been subjected to EO extraction to test their varroacidal efficacy in the laboratory or in the field. The results were extremely different even when the same botanical species were used in independent studies. This is undoubtedly related to the enormous variety of methods used to assess the efficacy of acaricides and the variation in plant composition according to origin. This review, in addition to providing an overview of the results, seeks to steer the scientific community towards consistent evaluation methods by pointing out the most valuable research projects currently underway.
Abstract
The Varroa destructor parasite is the main obstacle to the survival of honey bee colonies. Pest control mainly involves the use of synthetic drugs which, used with the right criteria and in rotation, are able to ensure that infestation levels are kept below the damage threshold. Although these drugs are easy to use and quick to apply, they have numerous disadvantages. Their prolonged use has led to the emergence of pharmacological resistance in treated parasite populations; furthermore, the active ingredients and/or their metabolites accumulate in the beehive products with the possibility of risk for the end consumer. Moreover, the possibility of subacute and chronic toxicity phenomena for adult honeybees and their larval forms must be considered. In this scenario, eco-friendly products derived from plant species have aroused great interest over the years. In recent decades, several studies have been carried out on the acaricidal efficacy of plant essential oils (EOs). Despite the swarming of laboratory and field studies, however, few EO products have come onto the market. Laboratory studies have often yielded different results even for the same plant species. The reason for this discrepancy lies in the various study techniques employed as well as in the variability of the chemical compositions of plants. The purpose of this review is to take stock of the research on the use of EOs to control the V. destructor parasite. It begins with an extensive discussion of the characteristics, properties, and mechanisms of action of EOs, and then examines the laboratory and field tests carried out. Finally, an attempt is made to standardize the results and open up new lines of study in future.
... However, a large scale dramatic losses and decline of pollinators including honeybees have been reported in several regions of the world resulting severe threat to the apiculture industry and global food security [6][7][8][9]. For example, beekeepers in the United States lost an estimated 50.8% of their managed honey bee colonies only in 2021, which was the highest annual loss on record [10]. ...
... Fortunately, the bees showed no trophallactic transfer of food from each other as soon as they recognized contamination in the food solution either to save themselves or loss their cognitive behavior [45,46]. Evidence from recent study also highlighted those pesticide-induced cognitive impairments on olfactory learning, visual learning, and memory of honeybees [7]. Similarly, acute exposure of bees to neonicotinoid induces a series of symptoms that are consistent with hyperresponsive neural impairments [47]. ...
Global honeybee losses and colony decline are becoming continuous threat to the apicultural industry, as well as, for food security and environmental stability. Although the putative causes are still unclear, extensive exposure of bees to pesticides could be the possible factor for worldwide colony losses. This study was aimed at evaluating the impact of nine commonly used pesticide incidents on adult worker honeybees (A. mellifera) under the laboratory condition, in North Gonder of Amhara region, Ethiopia. Feeding test, contact test, and fumigation tests were carried out for each pesticide following the standard procedures, and each pesticide toxicity was compared to the standard toxic chemical, dimethoate 40% EC (positive control), and to 50% honey solution (negative control). The results revealed that all the tested pesticides caused significant deaths of the experimental bees (P
... The variability of the diverse immune system in insects [36] extrapolates to variable immune responses concerning the pesticide-pathogen interaction. It is already evident that the effect of pesticide exposure on the immune response in insects is variable between different orders [37] and within the same order as in the case of honeybees and bumblebees [34]. ...
Invertebrates have a diverse immune system that responds differently to stressors such as pesticides and pathogens, which leads to different degrees of susceptibility. Honeybees are facing a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder which is attributed to several factors including pesticides and pathogens. We applied an in vitro approach to assess the response of immune-activated hemocytes from Apis mellifera, Drosophila melanogaster and Mamestra brassicae after exposure to imidacloprid and amitraz. Hemocytes were exposed to the pesticides in single and co-exposures using zymosan A for immune activation. We measured the effect of these exposures on cell viability, nitric oxide (NO) production from 15 to 120 min and on extracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production after 3 h to assess potential alterations in the oxidative response. Our results indicate that NO and H2O2 production is more altered in honeybee hemocytes compared to D. melanogaster and M. brassicae cell lines. There is also a differential production at different time points after pesticide exposure between these insect species as contrasting effects were evident with the oxidative responses in hemocytes. The results imply that imidacloprid and amitraz act differently on the immune response among insect orders and may render honeybee colonies more susceptible to infection and pests.
... One of the most important factors blamed for the decline of honey bee colonies is the exposure to pesticides [2]. Therefore, their effects on colony survival, health and behavior are studied all over the world [3,4]. Among the pesticides, imidacloprid [1-(6-chloro-3-pyridylmethyl)-2nitroimino-imidazolidine] is a neonicotinoid neuro-active systemic insecticide widely used in pest control, seed treatment, and fighting termites, fleas, etc. ...
... That is because IMD deteriorates immunity, detoxification, proteolytic abilities, antioxidative barriers, DNA methylation, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and many other important physiological mechanisms and pathways in honey bees [6,7,[10][11][12][13][14][15]. However, there is a gap in this knowledge since, as far as we know, there is no evidence of the impact of neonicotinoids on bee body bioelement levels/balance, which, on the other hand, is essential for bee metabolism, and recent detailed review papers do not mention this [3][4][5]16]. Filling this gap is important for a better understanding of the mechanisms of the worldwide honey bee decline. ...
... Notably, similar to the remaining bioelements, the impact of IMD was significant even when its doses were sublethal. P is the key element of the organism energy carriers [20], which is in line with the observation that IMD reduced oxygen consumption, impaired mitochondrial functions, and intensified glycolysis [3]. In turn, both Al, B, and Si deficiency and an excess of B and Si could accelerate senescence [22,31]. ...
Simple Summary
Honey bees deliver many valuable products and pollinate many crucial crops, and pesticides impair honey bee health in many ways. It is a serious problem of the contemporary agroecosystem, but the mechanisms of these phenomena have not been sufficiently explored. Therefore, we investigated the impact of the imidacloprid pesticide (IMD) on the bioelement body content in honey bees in field experiments using both sublethal considered field-relevant (5 ppb), and adverse (200 ppb) doses, which has not been studied before. Our findings revealed for the first time that IMD causes unexpectedly severe bioelement deficiencies in 69% of bioelements (32 assayed) and disturbs the balance between the levels of the remaining ones even at sublethal doses. The increase in three toxic bioelements was alarming. Consequently, we have suggested a new physiological mechanism regarding how nicotinoids may interfere with honey bee health status. This also sets out new directions for further research, pointing to the bioelement supplementation of the diet as an important element of honey bee preventive health care when the bee farms or amateur apiaries are located in an agrocenosis exposed to pesticides.
Abstract
Pesticides impair honeybee health in many ways. Imidacloprid (IMD) is a pesticide used worldwide. No information exists on how IMD impact the bees’ body bioelement balance, which is essential for bee health. We hypothesized that IMD disturbs this balance and fed the bees (in field conditions) with diets containing 0 ppb (control), 5 ppb (sublethal considered field-relevant), and 200 ppb (adverse) doses of IMD. IMD severely reduced the levels of K, Na, Ca, and Mg (electrolytic) and of Fe, Mo, Mn, Co, Cu, Ni, Se, and Zn, while those of Sn, V, and Cr (enzymatic) were increased. Levels of P, S, Ti, Al, Li, and Sr were also decreased, while only the B content (physiologically essential) was increased. The increase in Tl, Pb, and As levels (toxic) was alarming. Generally, IMD, even in sublethal doses, unexpectedly led to severe bioelement malnutrition in 69% of bioelements and to a stoichiometric mismatch in the remaining ones. This points to the IMD-dependent bioelement disturbance as another, yet unaccounted for, essential metabolic element which can interfere with apian health. Consequently, there is a need for developing methods of bioelement supplementation of the honey bee diet for better preventing bee colony decline and protecting apian health status when faced with pesticides.
... This pollinator plays a fundamental socio-economic role in food production because of its pollination services and bee products such as honey (Gallai et al., 2009). The use of pesticides is one of the main stressors linked to the observed decline of this species (Sanchez-Bayo and Goka, 2014;Chmiel et al., 2020). In the European Union (EU), there are currently 1,461 active substances registered, of which 454 are approved (EU Pesticides Database, 2021). ...
... However, sublethal endpoints such as effects in immunity, behaviour, or sensor ability can affect honey bee performance and reduce populations. Studies aiming to describe the non-lethal effects of pesticides in A. mellifera are available in the literature (Chmiel et al., 2020;Di Noi et al., 2021). Nevertheless, most of these studies are performed with insecticides, mainly from the neonicotinoid family. ...
... Other types of pesticides are underrepresented. Furthermore, a recent review by Chmiel et al. (2020) also highlighted that knowledge gaps exist in certain responses, particularly within enzymatic and molecular levels, such as those regarding the immune system and genotoxicity. Therefore, the protein-ligand interactions presented in this study could be used as guidance for the experimental testing of pesticides and in this way contribute to the overall protection of honey bees in Europe. ...
Abstract A global decline of the honey bee Apis mellifera has been observed in the last decades. This pollinator plays a fundamental role in food production and the economy in Europe. The decline of honey bee colonies is linked to several stressors, including pesticides. The current pesticide risk assessment of honey bees in Europe focuses on lethal effects and lacks reflection on sublethal effects. A better understanding of the consequences that exposure to these chemicals has on honey bees is still needed. In this context, the aim of this European Food Risk Assessment Fellowship Programme fellowship project has been to use in silico methodologies, such as virtual screening, as a first step to identify possible interactions at the molecular level between A. mellifera proteins and pesticide ligands. For this purpose, a docking study of the proteins from A. mellifera and pesticide ligands extracted from online databases has been performed by using the software Autodock Vina. The results obtained were a ranking based on the predicted affinity of the pesticides for specific and non‐specific binding sites on bee macromolecules. These results were compared with data obtained from the literature and linked to potential sublethal effects. Finally, a risk assessment analysis of the identified molecular stressors of honey bees was performed. The results of this study are considered a starting point to identify new sources of possible stress for honey bees and thereby contribute to the overall understanding of the honey bee decline.
... After pollen was brought back to hive by forager bees, pollen would be deposited into comb cell (i.e., beebread) and fermented by microbiome which process involves pesticide bio-degradation (Kumar et al., 2021;Liu et al., 2019). Adult bees use several pathways in their body to reduce the negative impact of pesticides, including gut microbes (Chmiel et al., 2020;El Khoury et al., 2022) and detoxification enzymes in bees' tissues (Berenbaum and Johnson, 2015) to degrade and excrete pesticides from their body. Larvae mainly feed on royal jelly that is a source of pesticide exposure. ...
As one of the key stable crops to feed half of the world's population, how rice cropping system affects honey bee health regarding pesticide exposure and forage availability is under investigated. We predicted honey bees were stressed by high pesticide exposure and forage dearth in monoculture rice systems. Providing access to natural habitats is a typical approach to mitigate the negative impact of intensive agriculture on honey bees. We aimed to determine if bee colonies located in landscapes with more cover of forest habitat would collect more forage and be exposed to less pesticides. We selected beekeeping locations in rice dominated landscapes (as control), mosaic landscapes of rice and medium woodland (MW) cover, and landscapes of high woodland (HW) cover, respectively, in July when rice starts bloom and pesticides are commonly used. Colonies were inspected at a biweekly frequency from July to October with population growth and forage (nectar and pollen) availability estimated. Pollen and bees were collected in middle August for pesticide exposure analysis. We did not observe enhancement in forage availability and reduction in pesticide exposure in landscapes with increased forest habitat (i.e., MW or HW cover), and all colonies failed in the end. Other natural habitats that can supplement flower shortage periods in forest can be considered for supporting bee health. Our results suggest that forest should be carefully assessed for being incorporated into beekeeping management or pollinator conservation when forest phenology can be a factor to affect its impact as a natural habitat.
