Bumblebees under stress: Interacting effects of pesticides and heatwaves on colony development and longevity.

ABSTRACT: Pollinator decline is linked to intensified agricultural practices, pathogens, climate change, and several other factors. We investigated the combined impact of heat and pesticide stress on food consumption, survival, and reproductive fitness of bumble bees. As climate change is expected to intensify heatwaves, we simulated a present-day and a future heatwave scenario (as expected in 50 years). In both scenarios, we exposed microcolonies to three widely used pesticides: azoxystrobin (fungicide), flupyradifurone, and sulfoxaflor (both insecticides)-mixed into pollen and nectar in field-realistic concentrations. We found that bees always consumed the least of sulfoxaflor-treated food, whereas consumption did not differ between other treatments or heatwave scenarios. Surprisingly, pesticide-s

SUBMITTER: Nebauer CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11570329 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature