Effects, but no interactions, of ubiquitous pesticide and parasite stressors on honey bee (Apis mellifera) lifespan and behaviour in a colony environment

Retschnig, Gina; Williams, Geoffrey Rhys; Odemer, R; Boltin, J; Di Poto, C; Mehmann, MM; Retschnig, P; Winiger, P; Rosenkranz, P; Neumann, Peter (2015). Effects, but no interactions, of ubiquitous pesticide and parasite stressors on honey bee (Apis mellifera) lifespan and behaviour in a colony environment. Environmental microbiology, 17(11), pp. 4322-4331. Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/1462-2920.12825

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Interactions between pesticides and parasites are believed to be responsible for increased mortality of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the northern hemisphere. Previous efforts have employed experimental approaches using small groups under laboratory conditions to investigate influence of these stressors on honey bee physiology and behaviour, although both the colony level and field conditions play a key role for eusocial honey bees. Here, we challenged honey bee workers under in vivo colony conditions with sublethal doses of the neonicotinoid thiacloprid, the miticide tau-fluvalinate and the endoparasite Nosema ceranae, to investigate potential effects on longevity and behaviour using observation hives. In contrast to previous laboratory studies, our results do not suggest interactions among stressors, but rather lone effects of pesticides and the parasite on mortality and behaviour, respectively. These effects appear to be weak due to different outcomes at the two study sites, thereby suggesting that the role of thiacloprid, tau-fluvalinate and N. ceranae and interactions among them may have been overemphasized. In the future, investigations into the effects of honey bee stressors should prioritize the use of colonies maintained under a variety of environmental conditions in order to obtain more biologically relevant data.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Institute of Bee Health

UniBE Contributor:

Retschnig, Gina, Williams, Geoffrey Rhys, Neumann, Peter (B)

Subjects:

500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology)
600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

1462-2912

Publisher:

Wiley-Blackwell

Language:

English

Submitter:

Gina Retschnig

Date Deposited:

24 May 2016 11:53

Last Modified:

29 Mar 2023 23:34

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/1462-2920.12825

PubMed ID:

25728008

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.82566

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/82566

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