Effects of neonicotinoids on honey bee autogrooming behavior against the tracheal mite Acarapis woodi

The European honey bee, Apis mellifera , is the most common and important pollinator of crops worldwide. Honey bees are damaged by destructive parasitic mites, but they also have evolved a behavioral immune system to remove them. Exposures to neonicotinoids, however, can cause significant behavioral...

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Published inEcotoxicology (London) Vol. 31; no. 2; pp. 251 - 258
Main Authors Sakamoto, Yoshiko, Yoshiyama, Mikio, Maeda, Taro, Goka, Koichi
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer US 01.03.2022
Springer
Subjects
Acarapis woodi
Animal behavior
Animals
Apis mellifera
Bees
Crops, Agricultural
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Ecotoxicology
endoparasites
Environment
Environmental Management
grooming (animal behavior)
honey
honey bees
Honeybee
immune system
Insecticides - toxicity
Mites - physiology
Neonicotinoids - toxicity
nicotinic receptors
pollinators
Thiamethoxam
toxicity
Self-grooming
Anti-parasite defense
Pollinator
Insecticide
Sub-lethal effect
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Summary:The European honey bee, Apis mellifera , is the most common and important pollinator of crops worldwide. Honey bees are damaged by destructive parasitic mites, but they also have evolved a behavioral immune system to remove them. Exposures to neonicotinoids, however, can cause significant behavioral effects because these compounds alter the central role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in insect brains. In this study, we assessed the effects of three neonicotinoids that have a high toxicity to bees—imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin—on the behavioral immune system of honey bees. We used A. mellifera and the endoparasitic mite Acarapis woodi as a behavioral immune system model because A. mellifera can effectively remove the mite by autogrooming. Our results did not demonstrate an effect of neonicotinoid application on whether bees show autogrooming or on mite removal, but the time to initial autogrooming became shorter and the number of autogrooming attempts increased. As opposed to previous studies, our findings indicate that the honey bee response to parasitic mites becomes more sensitive after exposure to neonicotinoids. Clinical Trials Registration: Not applicable
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ISSN:0963-9292
1573-3017
1573-3017
DOI:10.1007/s10646-021-02503-5