Exposure to a common pesticide affects the social behavior of bees: study

How are bees affected by pesticides? A new study shows that this affects the behavior of bees, from socialization to the manufacture of wax caps.

Exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides

Previous studies have shown that exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides can actually affect the foraging behavior of bees. This is a problem due to the growing struggle of bees, but a new study shows that foraging behavior may well be the beginning of bee's pesticide problems.

In a new study, researchers observed the behavior of bees when exposed to neonicotinoids and found that exposed people were actually less social than those who were not exposed and spent less time treating larvae. . In addition, additional tests revealed that bees exposed to pesticides actually had an impaired ability to warm the nest and make wax hats.

Bees behavior affected

To conduct their study, researchers placed simplified bar-coded black and white labels on each bee, and a colony camera was able to automatically track each bee. Here, researchers were able to observe how bees exposed to pesticides spend less time interacting with others and even more time at the outer edge of the colony.

Interestingly, the researchers did not notice much effect during the day but strongly observed the results at night. As such, researchers believe that it is possible that pesticides affect the circadian rhythm of bees.

In additional experiments, the researchers placed temperature probes in outer hives. Normally, bees are able to immediately detect temperature drops or temperature spikes and move their muscles to bring the hive to an optimal temperature. Behavior was observed in all control samples, even at very variable temperatures, but bees exposed to pesticides appeared to lose considerably their ability to regulate temperature.

In addition, bees have also lost the ability to build insulating wax hats on the colony.

Stricter regulations on pesticides

As such, researchers believe that the time may have come for tightening pesticide regulations.

"I think we are at a point where we should be very, very concerned about how we are changing the environment, which is undermining and decimating the insect populations that are important not just for the functioning of each and every ecosystem … but that are very important for food production, "said James Crall, head of the study.

The study is published in Science.

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