Immunosuppression in Honeybee Queens by the Neonicotinoids Thiacloprid and Clothianidin.

ABSTRACT: Queen health is crucial to colony survival of honeybees, since reproduction and colony growth rely solely on the queen. Queen failure is considered a relevant cause of colony losses, yet few data exist concerning effects of environmental stressors on queens. Here we demonstrate for the first time that exposure to field-realistic concentrations of neonicotinoid pesticides can severely affect the immunocompetence of queens of western honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). In young queens exposed to thiacloprid (200 µg/l or 2000 µg/l) or clothianidin (10 µg/l or 50 µg/l), the total hemocyte number and the proportion of active, differentiated hemocytes was significantly reduced. Moreover, functional aspects of the immune defence namely the wound healing/melanisation response, as well as the antimicrob

SUBMITTER: Brandt A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5498664 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature