Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu

Washington State University | WSU · Department of Entomology

Pesticides have been cited as one of the major drivers of pollinator loss. However, little is known about pesticide impacts on natural populations of native honey bee species. This study looked into the effect of pesticides with respect to oxidative stress in the laboratory and in field populations of two native Indian honey bee species (Apis dorsa...

Little information is available regarding the adverse effects of pesticides on natural honey bee populations. This study highlights the detrimental effects of pesticides on honey bee olfaction through behavioural studies, scanning electron microscopic imaging of antennal sensillae and confocal microscopic studies of honey bee brains for calcium ion...

In honey bees and many other social insects, production of queens is a vital task, as colony fitness is dependent on queens. The factors considered by honey bee workers in selecting larvae to rear new queens during emergency queen rearing are poorly understood. Identifying these parameters is critical, both in an evolutionary and apicultural contex...

Background Significant annual honey bee colony losses have been reported in the USA and across the world over the past years. Malnutrition is one among several causative factors for such declines. Optimal nutrition serves as the first line of defense against multiple stressors such as parasites/pathogens and pesticides. Given the importance of nutr...

Honey bees provision glandular secretions in the form of royal jelly as larval nourishment to developing queens. Exposure to chemicals and nutritional conditions can influence queen development and thus impact colony fitness. Previous research reports that royal jelly remains pesticide-free during colony-level exposure and that chemical residues ar...

Cold winter temperatures govern the distribution and abundance of many insect species, but refugia that provide microclimates can moderate temperature-driven mortality. Winter temperatures have been implicated in limiting the survival and range of Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae; redbanded stink bug), an economically damagi...

https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/nutritionguide/

Pollinator nutrition is a highly complex subject that we are just starting to unravel, from the multidimensional nature of bee forage (pollen and nectar) to how the abiotic environment can affect the resources available to bees. Doing so is of utmost importance, as improving pollinator resource availability and nutrition is one of the proposed mech...

Diabetes and obesity are associated with the excessive intake of high-glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates, increased glycemic load (GL) foods, and inactive lifestyles. Carbohydrate-rich diets affect blood glucose levels. GI is an indicator of the impact of a specific food on blood glucose, while GL represents the quantity and quality of carbohydrates...

Pesticide usage associated with intensive agriculture is implicated as a major factor for pollinator decline. Apart from developmental and physiological impairments, pesticide exposure has been shown to cause major cognitive anomalies in honey bees. However, there are gaps in our understanding about the physiological and molecular mechanism that ca...

Honey bee larvae are dependent on the social structure of colony for their provisioning and survival. With thousands of larvae being managed collectively by groups of foragers (collecting food resources) and nurse bees (processing food and provisioning larvae), coordination of colony efforts in rearing brood depends on multiple dynamic cues of larv...

Optimal nutrition is crucial for honey bee colony growth and robust immune systems. Honey bee nutrition is complex and depends on the floral composition of the landscape. Foraging behavior of honey bees depends on both colony environment and external environment. There are significant gaps in knowledge regarding honey bee nutrition, and hence no op...

IN NATURE, THEIR POTENTIAL FOR DEVASTATION OR REJUVENATION SHAPES ENTIRE ECOSYSTEMS. Insects and wildfires are two of Mother Nature’s most extreme forces, so their relationship is extremely complicated. Both can be naturally occurring or human-induced, and either can cause an outbreak of the other. In nature, their potential for devastation or reju...

Global decline in insect pollinators, especially bees, have resulted in extensive research into understanding the various causative factors and formulating mitigative strategies. For commercial beekeepers in the United States, overwintering honey bee colony losses are significant, requiring tactics to overwinter bees in conditions designed to minim...

Phytosterols are important micronutrients that are precursors of important molting hormones and help maintain cellular membrane integrity in insects including bees. Previous research has shown that 24-methylenecholesterol is a key phytosterol that enhances honey bee longevity and improves nurse bee physiology. Nurse bees have the ability to selecti...

Pesticide exposures can have detrimental impacts on bee pollinators, ranging from immediate mortality to sub-lethal impacts. Flupyradifurone is the active ingredient in Sivanto™ and sulfoxaflor is the active ingredient in Transform®. They are both relatively new insecticides developed with an intent to reduce negative effects on bees, when applied...

Poor nutrition is an important factor in global bee population declines. A significant gap in knowledge persists regarding the role of various nutrients (especially micronutrients) in honey bees. Sterols are essential micronutrients in insect diets and play a physiologically vital role as precursors of important molting hormones and building blocks...

Although poor nutrition is cited as one of the crucial factors in global pollinator decline, the requirements and role of several important nutrients (especially micronutrients) in honey bees are not well understood. Micronutrients, viz. phytosterols, play a physiologically vital role in insects as precursors of important molting hormones and build...

The decline in populations of insect pollinators is a global concern. While multiple factors are implicated, there is uncertainty surrounding the contribution of certain groups of pesticides to losses in wild and managed bees. Nanotechnology-based pesticides (NBPs) are formulations based on multiple particle sizes and types. By packaging active ing...

The decline in populations of insect pollinators is a global concern. While multiple factors are implicated, there is uncertainty surrounding the contribution of certain groups of pesticides to losses in wild and managed bees. Nanotechnology-based pesticides (NBPs) are formulations based on multiple particle sizes and types. By packaging active ing...

Global decline in insect pollinator populations, especially honey bees, is a cause of serious concern. Pollination not only ensures food security, but also maintains biodiversity of the vast floral resources across the world. Various abiotic and biotic stressors have been attributed to the detrimental impacts on bee pollinator populations. This sho...

This brief introduction describes the organization and contents of our book. This volume is an effort to present, in one readable collection, the diversity of environmental issues. Researchers from different fields of subject like Political Science, Environmental Science, Economics, Geography, Pollination Biology, History, English, Earth Sciences a...

Global western honey bee, Apis mellifera (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), colony declines pose a significant threat to food production worldwide. Poor nutrition resulting from habitat loss, extensive monocultures, and agricultural intensification is among the several suggested drivers for colony declines. Pollen is the primary source of protein for hone...

Pesticides have been reported to be one of the major drivers in the global pollinator losses. The large-scale decline in honey bees, an important pollinator group, has resulted in comprehensive studies on honey bee colonies. Lack of information on native wild pollinators has paved the way for this study, which highlights the underlying evolutionary...

The role of phytosterols in honey bee nutrition has been investigated.

The paper talks about the impacts of pesticide on honey bee olfaction. A series of experiments were conducted to explore this particular research direction. Honey bee behavioral assays (PER), morphometric studies of adult honey bees, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies of honey bee antennal sensilla, live dissection of honey bee brains for...

The role that sterols play in honey bee nutrition has been investigated through a series of behavioral, molecular and mass spectrometry experiments.

Results from extensive studies on honey bees to explore the effects of malnutrition and pesticides have been discussed.

Available online http://bsedkolkata.org.in/emagazine/wildlife/38-the-many-faces-of-conservation . It is always a good feeling when we come across a word that we have heard a thousand times and we can prod our heads a little and remember what it means. But do we truly understand its meaning? “Conservation” is perhaps such a familiar word. Our course...

The role of phytosterols in honey bee nutrition has been discussed, showing some of the experimental results.

The pesticide induced olfactory impairments in native Indian honey bees have been discussed.

The presentation gives us a detailed overview of the various stressors pollinators face - ranging from pesticide exposure to malnutrition. The presentation is backed by scientific experiments and extension work and discusses the results of the research done by the author over the last 5 years across various institutions.

There is an important role for indigenous and local knowledge in a Multiple Evidence Base to make decisions about the use of biodiversity and its management. This is important both to ensure that the knowledge base is complete (comprising both scientific and local knowledge) and to facilitate participation in the decision making process. We present...

About 70 per cent of common agricultural crops grown by a vast majority of subsistence farmers across the tropics are directly dependent on pollination services in varying extents. Pollinating insects play a major role in delivering the pollination service. Among them the bees- both domesticated and wild, are the primary pollinators of most agricul...

http://bsedkolkata.org.in/emagazine/food-safety/27-food-security-in-agriculture

Honey bees play an important role as pollinators in global cropping systems. In recent decades, intensive agricultural practices have led to increased pesticide use, resulting in a significant reduction in wild bees and other beneficial insects. An information gap led to the present study being focused on the responses of the natural populations of...

Results from extensive studies on pesticide induced impairments in native Indian honey bees were discussed.

Pesticides are considered to be a potent driver for loss of important pollinators. Pesticides impose a series of sub-lethal effects on these beneficial insects which are often overlooked. Long term repeated exposure to pesticides can impair behaviour, neurobiology, physiology and various other survival mechanisms of insect pollinator groups and par...

http://www.bsedkolkata.org.in/emagazine/wildlife/13-the-invisible-world

Agricultural intensification leading to increased pesticide usage has been indicated globally as a potential driver for decline in natural pollinators. Apis dorsata and Apis cerana, the native Indian honey bee species, are important pollinators in Indian agro-ecosystems. Our study shows increase in oxidative stress enzymes (Catalase and Superoxide...