Effects of pesticide-adjuvant combinations used in almond orchards on olfactory responses to social signals in honey bees (Apis mellifera).

ABSTRACT: Exposure to agrochemical sprays containing pesticides and tank-mix adjuvants has been implicated in post-bloom mortality, particularly of brood, in honey bee colonies brought into California almond orchards for pollination. Although adjuvants are generally considered to be biologically inert, some adjuvants have exhibited toxicity and sublethal effects, including decreasing survival rates of next-generation queens. Honey bees have a highly developed olfactory system to detect and discriminate among social signals. To investigate the impact of pesticide-adjuvant combinations on honey bee signal perception, we performed electroantennography assays to assess alterations in their olfactory responsiveness to the brood ester pheromone (BEP), the volatile larval pheromone β-ocimene, and the alarm

SUBMITTER: Wu WY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10511525 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature