Neonicotinoid Pesticide Reduces Bumble Bee Colony Growth and Queen Production

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 336; no. 6079; pp. 351 - 352
• Main Authors: Whitehorn, Penelope R., O'Connor, Stephanie, Wackers, Felix L., Goulson, Dave
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 20.04.2012; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Anatomy; Animal reproduction; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Bees; Bees - drug effects; Bees - growth & development; Bees - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Bombus terrestris; Bumblebees; Crops; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on protozoa and invertebrates; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food crops; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Honey bee colonies; Honey bees; Imidazoles - toxicity; Insect colonies; Insect pests; Insecticides - toxicity; Male; Neonicotinoids; Nitro Compounds - toxicity; Oilseeds; Pesticides; Pollen; Population Dynamics; Queen honey bees; Random Allocation; Reproduction - drug effects; Success; Weight Gain - drug effects; Insecticide; Growth rate; Toxicity; Insecta; Pesticides; Apidae; Social insect; Neonicotinoid; Pollinator; Queen insect; Apoidea; Arthropoda; Production; Colony; Imidacloprid; Hymenoptera; Invertebrata; Bombus terrestris; Aculeata
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1215025

Growing evidence for declines in bee populations has caused great concern because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide. Neonicotinoid insecticides have been implicated in these declines because they occur at trace levels in the nectar and pollen of crop plants. We exposed colonies of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris in the laboratory to field-realistic levels of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, then allowed them to develop naturally under field conditions. Treated colonies had a significantly reduced growth rate and suffered an 85% reduction in production of new queens compared with control colonies. Given the scale of use of neonicotinoids, we suggest that they may be having a considerable negative impact on wild bumble bee populations across the developed world.