ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1759-6950
Current Organisation
USDA Agricultural Research Service
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Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 23-05-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.ECOENV.2022.113202
Abstract: How neonicotinoid contamination affects honey bees remains controversial. Studies have yielded contradictory results, and few have examined effects on colony development. Here we report the results of a comprehensive five-year study of the effects of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid on honey bee colonies. Colonies fed 5 ng/g (ppb) imidacloprid in sugar syrup showed increased brood production, lower temperature variability, higher CO
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 07-2019
Abstract: There is increasing worldwide concern about the impacts of pesticide residues on honey bees and bee colony survival, but how sublethal effects of pesticides on bees might cause colony failure remains highly controversial, with field data giving very mixed results. To explore how trace levels of the neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid impacted colony foraging performance, we equipped bees with RFID tags that allowed us to track their lifetime flight behavior. One group of bees was exposed to a trace concentration (5 μg/kg, ppb) of imidacloprid in sugar syrup while in the larval stage. The imidacloprid residues caused bees to start foraging when younger as adults and perform fewer orientation flights, and reduced their lifetime foraging flights by 28%. The magnitude of the effects of a trace imidacloprid concentration delivered only during larval stage highlights the severity of pesticide residues for bee foraging performance. Our data suggest that neonicotinoids could impact colony function by imbalancing the normal age based ision of labor in a colony and reducing foraging efficiency. Understanding this mechanism will help the development of interventions to safeguard bee colony health.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-01-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.04.402
Abstract: Pesticide residues have been linked to reduced bee health and increased honey bee colony failure. Most research to date has investigated the role of pesticides on in idual honey bees, and it is still unclear how trace levels of pesticides change colony viability and productivity over seasonal time scales. To address this question we exposed standard bee colonies to chemical stressors known to have negative effects on in idual bees, and measured the productivity of bee colonies across a whole year in two environments: near Tucson Arizona and Sydney Australia. We exposed hives to a trace amount of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid and to the acaricide thymol, and measured capped brood, bee and honey production, as well as the temperature and foraging force of the colonies. The effect of imidacloprid on colony dynamics differed between the two environments. In Tucson we recorded a positive effect of imidacloprid treatment on bee and brood numbers. Thymol was associated with short-term negative effects on bee numbers at both locations, and may have affected colony survival at one location. The overall benefits of thymol for the colonies were unclear. We conclude that long-term and colony-level measures of the effects of agrochemicals are needed to properly understand risks to bees.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 16-10-2018
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 27-05-2021
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-497078/V1
Abstract: How neonicotinoid contamination effects honey bees remains controversial. Studies have yielded contradictory results, and few have examined effects on colony development. Here we report the results of a comprehensive five-year study of the effects of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid on honey bee colonies. Colonies fed 5 ng/g (ppb) imidacloprid showed increased brood production, lower temperature variability, higher CO2 production and had more foragers compared to control colonies. Even so, treatment did not affect adult bee numbers or average hive temperatures, and did not increase food stores, daily food acquisition or colony survivorship. Imidacloprid contamination increased colony metabolism without improving colony productivity, which is consistent with the pharmacological action of imidacloprid as a stimulant. Our findings explain why some studies have reported no, or even positive, effects of neonicotinoids. We provide an explanation for the erse effects of pesticide contamination on honey bees, and a thorough understanding of how colonies are impacted.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-02-2020
Location: United States of America
Location: United States of America
No related grants have been discovered for William Meikle.