Sublethal concentrations of clothianidin affect honey bee colony growth and hive CO₂ concentration.

ABSTRACT: The effects of agricultural pesticide exposure upon honey bee colonies is of increasing interest to beekeepers and researchers, and the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides in particular has come under intense scrutiny. To explore potential colony-level effects of a neonicotinoid pesticide at field-relevant concentrations, honey bee colonies were fed 5- and 20-ppb concentrations of clothianidin in sugar syrup while control colonies were fed unadulterated syrup. Two experiments were conducted in successive years at the same site in southern Arizona, and one in the high rainfall environment of Mississippi. Across all three experiments, adult bee masses were about 21% lower among colonies fed 20-ppb clothianidin than the untreated control group, but no effects of treatment on brood production w

SUBMITTER: Meikle WG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7902615 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature