Chronic exposure to the pesticide flupyradifurone can lead to premature onset of foraging in honeybees Apis mellifera

• Published in: The Journal of applied ecology 2020-03, Vol.57 (3), p.609-618
• Main Authors: Hesselbach, Hannah, Seeger, Johannes, Schilcher, Felix, Ankenbrand, Markus, Scheiner, Ricarda, Beggs, Jacqueline
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylcholine receptors; Agricultural land; Agrochemicals; Apis mellifera; Bees; Brain; Brain damage; Brain injury; Chronic exposure; Crop science; Flight behavior; flight behaviour; flupyradifurone; foraging; Foraging behavior; histology; honeybee; insecticide; Insects; Life expectancy; Life span; Long-term effects; Mode of action; Morphology; mortality; Neonicotinoid insecticides; Pesticides; Radio frequency identification; Receptors
• ISSN: 0021-8901; 1365-2664
• DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13555

Honeybees Apis mellifera and other pollinating insects suffer from pesticides in agricultural landscapes. Flupyradifurone is the active ingredient of a novel pesticide by the name of ‘Sivanto’, introduced by Bayer AG (Crop Science Division, Monheim am Rhein, Germany). It is recommended against sucking insects and marketed as ‘harmless’ to honeybees. Flupyradifurone binds to nicotinergic acetylcholine receptors like neonicotinoids, but it has a different mode of action. So far, little is known on how sublethal flupyradifurone doses affect honeybees. We chronically applied a sublethal and field‐realistic concentration of flupyradifurone to test for long‐term effects on flight behaviour using radio‐frequency identification. We examined haematoxylin/eosin‐stained brains of flupyradifurone‐treated bees to investigate possible changes in brain morphology and brain damage. A field‐realistic flupyradifurone dose of approximately 1.0 μg/bee/day significantly increased mortality. Pesticide‐treated bees initiated foraging earlier than control bees. No morphological damage in the brain was observed. Synthesis and applications. The early onset of foraging induced by a chronical application of flupyradifurone could be disadvantageous for honeybee colonies, reducing the period of in‐hive tasks and life expectancy of individuals. Radio‐frequency identification technology is a valuable tool for studying pesticide effects on lifetime foraging behaviour of insects. Abstrakt Honigbienen Apis mellifera und andere bestäubende Insekten sind in Agrarlandschaften einer Vielzahl von Pflanzenschutzmitteln ausgesetzt. Der neue Wirkstoff Flupyradifuron wurde unter dem Handelsnamen „Sivanto“ von der Bayer AG (Crop Science Division, Monheim am Rhein, Deutschland) auf den Markt gebracht. Dieses Präparat kann gegen saugende Schadinsekten eingesetzt werden und wird als bienenfreundlich vermarktet. Flupyradifuron bindet wie die Neonicotinoide an nicotinergen Acetylcholin Rezeptoren, hat hier jedoch eine andere Wirkungsweise. Bisher ist wenig darüber bekannt, wie Flupyradifuron in subletalen Dosen auf die Honigbiene wirkt. Wir haben Honigbienen chronisch einer subletalen und feldrealistischen Konzentration von Flupyradifuron ausgesetzt, um mithilfe der Radiofrequenzidentifikation (RFID) mögliche langfristige Auswirkungen auf das Flugverhalten zu untersuchen. Hämatoxylin/Eosin‐gefärbte Gehirne von mit Flupyradifuron behandelten Bienen wurden untersucht, um mögliche Veränderungen der Gehirnmor