A Sublethal Concentration of Sulfoxaflor Has Minimal Impact on Buff-Tailed Bumblebee (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>) Locomotor Behaviour under Aversive Conditioning
Pesticide exposure has been cited as a key threat to insect pollinators. Notably, a diverse range of potential sublethal effects have been reported in bee species, with a particular focus on effects due to exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides. Here, a purpose-built thermal–visual arena was used in...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Toxics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/11/3/279 |
| _version_ | 1827747455151636480 |
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| author | Laura James Andrew M. Reynolds Ian R. Mellor T. G. Emyr Davies |
| author_facet | Laura James Andrew M. Reynolds Ian R. Mellor T. G. Emyr Davies |
| author_sort | Laura James |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pesticide exposure has been cited as a key threat to insect pollinators. Notably, a diverse range of potential sublethal effects have been reported in bee species, with a particular focus on effects due to exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides. Here, a purpose-built thermal–visual arena was used in a series of pilot experiments to assess the potential impact of approximate sublethal concentrations of the next generation sulfoximine insecticide sulfoxaflor (5 and 50 ppb) and the neonicotinoid insecticides thiacloprid (500 ppb) and thiamethoxam (10 ppb), on the walking trajectory, navigation and learning abilities of the buff-tailed bumblebee (<i>Bombus terrestris audax</i>) when subjected to an aversive conditioning task. The results suggest that only thiamethoxam prevents forager bees from improving in key training parameters (speed and distanced travelled) within the thermal visual arena. Power law analyses further revealed that a speed–curvature power law, previously reported as being present in the walking trajectories of bumblebees, is potentially disrupted under thiamethoxam (10 ppb) exposure, but not under sulfoxaflor or thiacloprid exposure. The pilot assay described provides a novel tool with which to identify subtle sublethal pesticide impacts, and their potential causes, on forager bees, that current ecotoxicological tests are not designed to assess. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:48:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-00ba84a7e561422a8f6409c3d2005b10 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2305-6304 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:48:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxics |
| spelling | doaj.art-00ba84a7e561422a8f6409c3d2005b102023-11-17T14:13:38ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042023-03-0111327910.3390/toxics11030279A Sublethal Concentration of Sulfoxaflor Has Minimal Impact on Buff-Tailed Bumblebee (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>) Locomotor Behaviour under Aversive ConditioningLaura James0Andrew M. Reynolds1Ian R. Mellor2T. G. Emyr Davies3Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UKProtecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UKFaculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UKProtecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UKPesticide exposure has been cited as a key threat to insect pollinators. Notably, a diverse range of potential sublethal effects have been reported in bee species, with a particular focus on effects due to exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides. Here, a purpose-built thermal–visual arena was used in a series of pilot experiments to assess the potential impact of approximate sublethal concentrations of the next generation sulfoximine insecticide sulfoxaflor (5 and 50 ppb) and the neonicotinoid insecticides thiacloprid (500 ppb) and thiamethoxam (10 ppb), on the walking trajectory, navigation and learning abilities of the buff-tailed bumblebee (<i>Bombus terrestris audax</i>) when subjected to an aversive conditioning task. The results suggest that only thiamethoxam prevents forager bees from improving in key training parameters (speed and distanced travelled) within the thermal visual arena. Power law analyses further revealed that a speed–curvature power law, previously reported as being present in the walking trajectories of bumblebees, is potentially disrupted under thiamethoxam (10 ppb) exposure, but not under sulfoxaflor or thiacloprid exposure. The pilot assay described provides a novel tool with which to identify subtle sublethal pesticide impacts, and their potential causes, on forager bees, that current ecotoxicological tests are not designed to assess.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/11/3/279beepesticidebumblebeebehaviourlearningsulfoximine |
| spellingShingle | Laura James Andrew M. Reynolds Ian R. Mellor T. G. Emyr Davies A Sublethal Concentration of Sulfoxaflor Has Minimal Impact on Buff-Tailed Bumblebee (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>) Locomotor Behaviour under Aversive Conditioning Toxics bee pesticide bumblebee behaviour learning sulfoximine |
| title | A Sublethal Concentration of Sulfoxaflor Has Minimal Impact on Buff-Tailed Bumblebee (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>) Locomotor Behaviour under Aversive Conditioning |
| title_full | A Sublethal Concentration of Sulfoxaflor Has Minimal Impact on Buff-Tailed Bumblebee (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>) Locomotor Behaviour under Aversive Conditioning |
| title_fullStr | A Sublethal Concentration of Sulfoxaflor Has Minimal Impact on Buff-Tailed Bumblebee (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>) Locomotor Behaviour under Aversive Conditioning |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Sublethal Concentration of Sulfoxaflor Has Minimal Impact on Buff-Tailed Bumblebee (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>) Locomotor Behaviour under Aversive Conditioning |
| title_short | A Sublethal Concentration of Sulfoxaflor Has Minimal Impact on Buff-Tailed Bumblebee (<i>Bombus terrestris</i>) Locomotor Behaviour under Aversive Conditioning |
| title_sort | sublethal concentration of sulfoxaflor has minimal impact on buff tailed bumblebee i bombus terrestris i locomotor behaviour under aversive conditioning |
| topic | bee pesticide bumblebee behaviour learning sulfoximine |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/11/3/279 |
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