Fungicides and insecticides can alter the microbial community on the cuticle of honey bees.

ABSTRACT: Honey bees are crucial for our ecosystems as pollinators, but the intensive use of plant protection products (PPPs) in agriculture poses a risk for them. PPPs do not only affect target organisms but also affect non-targets, such as the honey bee Apis mellifera and their microbiome. This study is the first of its kind, aiming to characterize the effect of PPPs on the microbiome of the cuticle of honey bees. We chose PPPs, which have frequently been detected in bee bread, and studied their effects on the cuticular microbial community and function of the bees. The effects of the fungicide Difcor^® (difenoconazole), the insecticide Steward^® (indoxacarb), the combination of both (mix A) and the fungicide Cantus^® Gold (boscalid and dimoxystrobin), the insec

SUBMITTER: Reiß F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10642971 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature