A Spinosad-Based Formulation Reduces the Survival and Alters the Behavior of the Stingless Bee Plebeia lucii
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INSECT POLLINATORS
A Spinosad-Based Formulation Reduces the Survival and Alters the Behavior of the Stingless Bee Plebeia lucii RD MARQUES1, MAP LIMA1 , RD MARQUES2, RC BERNARDES3 1
Depto de Biologia Animal, Univ. Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG , Brasil Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Univ. Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brasil 3 Depto de Entomologia, Univ. Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brasil 2
Keywords Ecotoxicology, organic farming, pollinator decline, Plebeia, spinosad Correspondence MAP Lima, Depto de Biologia Animal, Univ. Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG 36570-900, Brasil; [email protected] Edited by Carmen S S Pires – Embrapa Received 20 August 2019 and accepted 12 February 2020 * Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil 2020
Abstract The decline in bee populations worldwide has been associated with the use of pesticides in crop systems where these insects forage. The use of biopesticides, like spinosad, is preferred as an alternative method to control pests, because it is considered safer to non-target insects. In this study, we evaluated the lethal and sublethal effects of the spinosadbased formulation Tracer® on foragers of the stingless bee Plebeia lucii Moure (Apidae: Meliponini). Groups of bees were fed a pure diet (negative control) or a diet at different concentrations of spinosad. Positive control groups consisted of bees orally exposed to a diet with the neonicotinoid imidacloprid. Next, flight behavior, body mass, and respiration rate were evaluated in surviving bees. The results showed that bees´ survival was reduced by all concentrations of spinosad, when compared with the negative control. Bee locomotion—walking and flight—was reduced in accordance with the increase in spinosad concentrations; however, body mass and respiration rate were not altered. Our results show that the use of Tracer® in ecosystems visited by P. lucii can reduce forager bee survival and reduce their locomotion, generating a negative impact on pollination services provided by these bees.
Introduction Pollination is an ecosystem service provided mainly by bees in the majority of terrestrial ecosystems and wild pollinators contribute to increase crop yield (Garibaldi et al 2013). Decline in bee populations is a worldwide concern and pollutant effects on honey bees and wild bees have been intensely debated for more than a decade (Brown & Paxton 2009). Although the effects of synthetic pesticides have been investigated on many different bee species (Arena & Sgolastra 2014, Lima et al 2016), the toxicity of other pesticides remains poorly explored, particularly on wild bees (Barbosa et al 2015). Despite their importance, wild bee populations are declining rapidly, and investigations linked to this decline are lacking when compared with research on honey bees (Powney et al 2019).
Bees can be exposed to agrochemical contamination during foraging or after contact with or ingestion of contaminated resources carried to the colonies and shared with nestmates (Krupke et al 2012). In the field, forager bees are the first to be
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