Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
Department of Chemistry, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, USA.
Environ Toxicol Chem. 2023 Nov;42(11):2400-2411. doi: 10.1002/etc.5721. Epub 2023 Aug 17.
Lethal and sublethal effects of pesticides on nontarget organisms are one of the causes of the current decline of many insect species. However, research in the past decades has focused primarily on pollinators, although other beneficial nontarget organisms such as parasitic wasps may also be affected. We studied the sublethal effects of the four insecticides acetamiprid, dimethoate, flupyradifurone, and sulfoxaflor on pheromone-mediated sexual communication and olfactory host finding of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis. All agents target cholinergic neurons, which are involved in the processing of chemical information by insects. We applied insecticide doses topically and tested the response of treated wasps to sex pheromones and host-associated chemical cues. In addition, we investigated the mating rate of insecticide-treated wasps. The pheromone response of females surviving insecticide treatment was disrupted by acetamiprid (≥0.63 ng), dimethoate (≥0.105 ng), and flupyradifurone (≥21 ng), whereas sulfoxaflor had no significant effects at the tested doses. Olfactory host finding was affected by all insecticides (acetamiprid ≥1.05 ng, dimethoate ≥0.105 ng, flupyradifurone ≥5.25 ng, sulfoxaflor ≥0.52 ng). Remarkably, females treated with ≥0.21 ng dimethoate even avoided host odor. The mating rate of treated N. vitripennis couples was decreased by acetamiprid (6.3 ng), flupyradifurone (≥2.63 ng), and sulfoxaflor (2.63 ng), whereas dimethoate showed only minor effects. Finally, we determined the amount of artificial nectar consumed by N. vitripennis females within 48 h. Considering this amount (∼2 µL) and the maximum concentrations of the insecticides reported in nectar, tested doses can be considered field-realistic. Our results suggest that exposure of parasitic wasps to field-realistic doses of insecticides targeting the cholinergic system reduces their effectiveness as natural enemies by impairing the olfactory sense. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:2400-2411. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
杀虫剂对非靶标生物的致死和亚致死效应是许多昆虫物种减少的原因之一。然而，过去几十年的研究主要集中在传粉媒介上，尽管其他有益的非靶标生物，如寄生蜂，也可能受到影响。我们研究了四种杀虫剂——乙酰甲胺磷、乐果、氟吡呋喃酮和噻虫啉——对寄生蜂丽蝇蛹集金小蜂（Nasonia vitripennis）信息素介导的性通讯和嗅觉寻找宿主能力的亚致死效应。所有这些药剂都针对的是参与昆虫化学信息处理的胆碱能神经元。我们通过局部应用杀虫剂来测试处理过的黄蜂对性信息素和与宿主相关的化学线索的反应。此外，我们还研究了经过杀虫剂处理的黄蜂的交配率。乙酰甲胺磷（≥0.63ng）、乐果（≥0.105ng）和氟吡呋喃酮（≥21ng）处理后的雌蜂对信息素的反应被破坏，而噻虫啉在测试剂量下没有显著影响。所有杀虫剂（乙酰甲胺磷≥1.05ng，乐果≥0.105ng，氟吡呋喃酮≥5.25ng，噻虫啉≥0.52ng）都影响了丽蝇蛹集金小蜂的嗅觉寻找宿主能力。值得注意的是，用≥0.21ng 乐果处理的雌蜂甚至回避了宿主气味。用乙酰甲胺磷（6.3ng）、氟吡呋喃酮（≥2.63ng）和噻虫啉（2.63ng）处理的 N. vitripennis 对的交配率降低，而乐果的影响较小。最后，我们测定了在 48 小时内 N. vitripennis 雌蜂消耗的人工花蜜量。考虑到这个量（约 2μL）和花蜜中报道的杀虫剂的最大浓度，测试剂量可以被认为是具有田间现实性的。我们的结果表明，暴露于具有田间现实性剂量的、作用于胆碱能系统的杀虫剂会损害寄生蜂的嗅觉，从而降低它们作为天敌的有效性。环境毒理化学 2023；42：2400-2411。
