Neonicotinoid exposure increases Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) mite parasitism severity in honey bee colonies and is not mitigated by increased colony genetic diversity
Date
2024-05-28
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Insect Science
Abstract
Agrochemical exposure is a major contributor to ecological declines worldwide, including the loss of crucial pollinator species. In addition to direct toxicity, field-relevant doses of pesticides can increase species’ vulnerabilities to other stressors, including parasites. Experimental field demonstrations of potential interactive effects of pesticides and additional stressors are rare, as are tests of mechanisms via which pollinators tolerate pesticides. Here, we controlled honey bee colony exposure to field-relevant concentrations of 2 neonicotinoid insecticides (clothianidin and thiamethoxam) in pollen and simultaneously manipulated intracolony genetic heterogeneity. We showed that exposure increased rates of Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman) parasitism and that while increased genetic heterogeneity overall improved survivability, it did not reduce the negative effect size of neonicotinoid exposure. This study is, to our knowledge, the first experimental field demonstration of how neonicotinoid exposure can increase V. destructor populations in honey bees and also demonstrates that colony genetic diversity cannot mitigate the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides.
Description
This article was originally published in Journal of Insect Science published by Oxford University Press. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieae056. © The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords
neonicotinoid, pesticide, parasite, genetic diversity, pollinator
Citation
Lewis J Bartlett, Suleyman Alparslan, Selina Bruckner, Deborah A Delaney, John F Menz, Geoffrey R Williams, Keith S Delaplane, Neonicotinoid exposure increases Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) mite parasitism severity in honey bee colonies and is not mitigated by increased colony genetic diversity, Journal of Insect Science, Volume 24, Issue 3, May 2024, 20, https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieae056