Chronic within-hive video recordings detect altered nursing behaviour and retarded larval development of neonicotinoid treated honey bees.

ABSTRACT: Risk evaluations for agricultural chemicals are necessary to preserve healthy populations of honey bee colonies. Field studies on whole colonies are limited in behavioural research, while results from lab studies allow only restricted conclusions on whole colony impacts. Methods for automated long-term investigations of behaviours within comb cells, such as brood care, were hitherto missing. In the present study, we demonstrate an innovative video method that enables within-cell analysis in honey bee (Apis mellifera) observation hives to detect chronic sublethal neonicotinoid effects of clothianidin (1 and 10 ppb) and thiacloprid (200 ppb) on worker behaviour and development. In May and June, colonies which were fed 10 ppb clothianidin and 200 ppb thiacloprid in syrup over three weeks show

SUBMITTER: Siefert P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7251098 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature