Honey bee queen health is unaffected by contact exposure to pesticides commonly found in beeswax.

ABSTRACT: Honey bee queen health is crucial for colony health and productivity, and pesticides have been previously associated with queen loss and premature supersedure. Prior research has investigated the effects of indirect pesticide exposure on queens via workers, as well as direct effects on queens during development. However, as adults, queens are in constant contact with wax as they walk on comb and lay eggs; therefore, direct pesticide contact with adult queens is a relevant but seldom investigated exposure route. Here, we conducted laboratory and field experiments to investigate the impacts of topical pesticide exposure on adult queens. We tested six pesticides commonly found in wax: coumaphos, tau-fluvalinate, atrazine, 2,4-DMPF, chlorpyriphos, chlorothalonil, and a cocktail of all six, eac

SUBMITTER: McAfee A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8313582 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature