Baron Gemma L, Raine Nigel E, Brown Mark J F
School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK.
School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.
Proc Biol Sci. 2017 May 17;284(1854). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0123.
Bumblebees are essential pollinators of crops and wild plants, but are in decline across the globe. Neonicotinoid pesticides have been implicated as a potential driver of these declines, but most of our evidence base comes from studies of a single species. There is an urgent need to understand whether such results can be generalized across a range of species. Here, we present results of a laboratory experiment testing the impacts of field-relevant doses (1.87-5.32 ppb) of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam on spring-caught wild queens of four bumblebee species: , , and Two weeks of exposure to the higher concentration of thiamethoxam caused a reduction in feeding in two out of four species, suggesting species-specific anti-feedant, repellency or toxicity effects. The higher level of thiamethoxam exposure resulted in a reduction in the average length of terminal oocytes in queens of all four species. In addition to providing the first evidence for general effects of neonicotinoids on ovary development in multiple species of wild bumblebee queens, the discovery of species-specific effects on feeding has significant implications for current practices and policy for pesticide risk assessment and use.
大黄蜂是农作物和野生植物的重要传粉者，但在全球范围内数量正在减少。新烟碱类杀虫剂被认为是导致这些数量减少的一个潜在因素，但我们的大部分证据来自对单一物种的研究。迫切需要了解这些结果是否能推广到一系列物种。在此，我们展示了一项实验室实验的结果，该实验测试了田间相关剂量（1.87 - 5.32 ppb）的新烟碱类杀虫剂噻虫嗪对春季捕获的四种大黄蜂野生蜂后的影响： 、 、 和 。接触较高浓度噻虫嗪两周导致四种大黄蜂中有两种取食量减少，这表明存在物种特异性的拒食、驱避或毒性作用。较高水平的噻虫嗪暴露导致所有四种大黄蜂蜂后的终末卵母细胞平均长度缩短。除了首次提供新烟碱类对多种野生大黄蜂蜂后卵巢发育有普遍影响的证据外，发现对取食的物种特异性影响对当前农药风险评估和使用的实践及政策具有重要意义。
