Host Plant Species Mediates Impact of Neonicotinoid Exposure to Monarch Butterflies.

ABSTRACT: Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides in North America. Numerous studies document the negative effects of neonicotinoids on bees, and it remains crucial to demonstrate if neonicotinoids affect other non-target insects, such as butterflies. Here we examine how two neonicotinoids (imidacloprid and clothianidin) affect the development, survival, and flight of monarch butterflies, and how these chemicals interact with the monarch's milkweed host plant. We first fed caterpillars field-relevant low doses (0.075 and 0.225 ng/g) of neonicotinoids applied to milkweed leaves (Asclepias incarnata), and found no significant reductions in larval development rate, pre-adult survival, or adult flight performance. We next fed larvae higher neonicotinoid doses (4-70 ng/g) and reared t

SUBMITTER: Prouty C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8623494 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature