TY - JOUR
T1 - Seasonal variability in physiology and behavior affect the impact of fungicide exposure on honey bee (Apis mellifera) health
AU - Fisher, Adrian
AU - Glass, Jordan R.
AU - Ozturk, Cahit
AU - DesJardins, Nicole
AU - Raka, Yash
AU - DeGrandi-Hoffman, Gloria
AU - Smith, Brian H.
AU - Fewell, Jennifer H.
AU - Harrison, Jon F.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service ( USDA-ARS 2017-68004-26322 ). The authors would like to thank Sufian Ahmed for assistance in marking newly emerged bees and photographing frames.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors
PY - 2022/10/15
Y1 - 2022/10/15
N2 - Honey bee pollination services are of tremendous agricultural and economic importance. Despite this, honey bees and other pollinators face ongoing perils, including population declines due to a variety of environmental stressors. Fungicides may be particularly insidious stressors for pollinators due to their environmental ubiquity and widespread approval for application during crop bloom. The mechanisms by which fungicides affect honey bees are poorly understood and any seasonal variations in their impact are unknown. Here we assess the effects on honey bee colonies of four-week exposure (the approximate duration of the almond pollination season) of a fungicide, Pristine® (25.2% boscalid, 12.8% pyraclostrobin), that has been commonly used for almonds. We exposed colonies to Pristine® in pollen patties placed into the hive, in either summer or fall, and assessed colony brood and worker populations, colony pollen collection and consumption, and worker age of first foraging and longevity. During the summer, Pristine® exposure induced precocious foraging, and reduced worker longevity resulting in smaller colonies. During the fall, Pristine® exposure induced precocious foraging but otherwise had no significant measured effects. During the fall, adult and brood population levels, and pollen consumption and collection, were all much lower, likely due to preparations for winter. Fungicides and other pesticides may often have reduced effects on honey bees during seasons of suppressed colony growth due to bees consuming less pollen and pesticide.
AB - Honey bee pollination services are of tremendous agricultural and economic importance. Despite this, honey bees and other pollinators face ongoing perils, including population declines due to a variety of environmental stressors. Fungicides may be particularly insidious stressors for pollinators due to their environmental ubiquity and widespread approval for application during crop bloom. The mechanisms by which fungicides affect honey bees are poorly understood and any seasonal variations in their impact are unknown. Here we assess the effects on honey bee colonies of four-week exposure (the approximate duration of the almond pollination season) of a fungicide, Pristine® (25.2% boscalid, 12.8% pyraclostrobin), that has been commonly used for almonds. We exposed colonies to Pristine® in pollen patties placed into the hive, in either summer or fall, and assessed colony brood and worker populations, colony pollen collection and consumption, and worker age of first foraging and longevity. During the summer, Pristine® exposure induced precocious foraging, and reduced worker longevity resulting in smaller colonies. During the fall, Pristine® exposure induced precocious foraging but otherwise had no significant measured effects. During the fall, adult and brood population levels, and pollen consumption and collection, were all much lower, likely due to preparations for winter. Fungicides and other pesticides may often have reduced effects on honey bees during seasons of suppressed colony growth due to bees consuming less pollen and pesticide.
KW - Colony
KW - Fungicide
KW - Honey bee
KW - Longevity
KW - Pollen
KW - Season
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U2 - 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120010
DO - 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120010
M3 - Article
C2 - 36002100
AN - SCOPUS:85136455645
SN - 0269-7491
VL - 311
JO - Environmental Pollution
JF - Environmental Pollution
M1 - 120010
ER -