Honey Bees and Neonicotinoid-Treated Corn Seed: Contamination, Exposure, and Effects.

ABSTRACT: Most corn (Zea mays) seeds planted in the United States in recent years are coated with a seed treatment containing neonicotinoid insecticides. Abrasion of the seed coating generates insecticide-laden planter dust that disperses through the landscape during corn planting and has resulted in many "bee-kill" incidents in North America and Europe. We investigated the linkage between corn planting and honey bee colony success in a region dominated by corn agriculture. Over 3 yr we consistently observed an increased presence of corn seed treatment insecticides in bee-collected pollen and elevated worker bee mortality during corn planting. Residues of seed treatment neonicotinoids, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, detected in pollen positively correlated with cornfield area surrounding the apiarie

SUBMITTER: Lin CH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8048971 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature