Survival rate and changes in foraging performances of solitary bees exposed to a novel insecticide

Solitary bees are among the most important pollinators worldwide however population declines especially in croplands has been noticed. The novel pesticide sulfoxaflor is a competitive modulator of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) in insects. While there is evidence of a negative impact of neonicotinoids on bees of several social organization levels, our overall knowledge on the impact of sulfoxaflor on bees is poor. Here we present for the first time a study showing effects of field realistic doses of sulfoxaflor on solitary bees. Bees submitted to long term exposure of field realistic doses of sulfoxaflor (5 mu g dm(-3), 10 mu g dm(-3), 50 mu g dm(-3)) and control were observed regarding their survival rate. Moreover, we recorded metrics related to flower visitation and flight performance. We discover that the highest field realistic dose is lethal to Osmia bicornis along five days of exposure. The effect of sulfoxaflor reduces the outcome of foraging, important features for fruit and seed production of crosspollinated plant species. Bees exposed to pesticide visited flowers mostly walking rather than flying. Flight performance was also impaired by the pesticide.

Automated summary

The study shows that long-term exposure to field-realistic doses of sulfoxaflor has a negative impact on the survival rate of solitary bees, leading to mortality. Bees exposed to pesticide tend to visit flowers by walking rather than flying, and their flight performance is impaired by the pesticide as well.