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Neonicotinoid exposure disrupts bumblebee nest behavior, social networks, and thermoregulation.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Neonicotinoid exposure disrupts bumblebee nest behavior, social networks, and thermoregulation.
Authors: Crall, J.D., Switzer, C.M., Oppenheimer, R.L., Ford Versypt, A.N., Dey, B., Brown, A., Eyster, M., Guérin, C., Pierce, N.E., Combes, S.A., de Bivort, B.L.
Publication Year: 2025
Collection: Université de Lausanne (UNIL): Serval - Serveur académique lausannois
Subject Terms: Animals, Bees/drug effects, Bees/physiology, Body Temperature Regulation/drug effects, Environmental Exposure, Insecticides/toxicity, Neonicotinoids/toxicity, Nesting Behavior/drug effects, Nitro Compounds/toxicity, Social Behavior
Description: Neonicotinoid pesticides can negatively affect bee colonies, but the behavioral mechanisms by which these compounds impair colony growth remain unclear. Here, we investigate imidacloprid's effects on bumblebee worker behavior within the nest, using an automated, robotic platform for continuous, multicolony monitoring of uniquely identified workers. We find that exposure to field-realistic levels of imidacloprid impairs nursing and alters social and spatial dynamics within nests, but that these effects vary substantially with time of day. In the field, imidacloprid impairs colony thermoregulation, including the construction of an insulating wax canopy. Our results show that neonicotinoids induce widespread disruption of within-nest worker behavior that may contribute to impaired growth, highlighting the potential of automated techniques for characterizing the multifaceted, dynamic impacts of stressors on behavior in bee colonies.
Document Type: article in journal/newspaper
Language: English
ISSN: 1095-9203
Relation: Science; https://iris.unil.ch/handle/iris/133140; serval:BIB_8E68FDFC09F8; 000450474500040
DOI: 10.1126/science.aat1598
Availability: https://iris.unil.ch/handle/iris/133140
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat1598
Accession Number: edsbas.339D9C5D
Database: BASE
Description
Abstract:Neonicotinoid pesticides can negatively affect bee colonies, but the behavioral mechanisms by which these compounds impair colony growth remain unclear. Here, we investigate imidacloprid's effects on bumblebee worker behavior within the nest, using an automated, robotic platform for continuous, multicolony monitoring of uniquely identified workers. We find that exposure to field-realistic levels of imidacloprid impairs nursing and alters social and spatial dynamics within nests, but that these effects vary substantially with time of day. In the field, imidacloprid impairs colony thermoregulation, including the construction of an insulating wax canopy. Our results show that neonicotinoids induce widespread disruption of within-nest worker behavior that may contribute to impaired growth, highlighting the potential of automated techniques for characterizing the multifaceted, dynamic impacts of stressors on behavior in bee colonies.
ISSN:10959203
DOI:10.1126/science.aat1598