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Seed coating with a neonicotinoid insecticide negatively affects wild bees.

Rundlöf, Maj LU orcid ; Andersson, Georg K.S. LU orcid ; Bommarco, Riccardo ; Fries, Ingemar ; Hederström, Veronica LU ; Herbertsson, Lina LU ; Jonsson, Ove ; Klatt, Björn LU orcid ; Pedersen, Thorsten R and Yourstone, Johanna LU , et al. (2015) In Nature 521(7550). p.77-162
Abstract
Understanding the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees is vital because of reported declines in bee diversity and distribution and the crucial role bees have as pollinators in ecosystems and agriculture. Neonicotinoids are suspected to pose an unacceptable risk to bees, partly because of their systemic uptake in plants, and the European Union has therefore introduced a moratorium on three neonicotinoids as seed coatings in flowering crops that attract bees. The moratorium has been criticized for being based on weak evidence, particularly because effects have mostly been measured on bees that have been artificially fed neonicotinoids. Thus, the key question is how neonicotinoids influence bees, and wild bees in particular, in... (More)
Understanding the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees is vital because of reported declines in bee diversity and distribution and the crucial role bees have as pollinators in ecosystems and agriculture. Neonicotinoids are suspected to pose an unacceptable risk to bees, partly because of their systemic uptake in plants, and the European Union has therefore introduced a moratorium on three neonicotinoids as seed coatings in flowering crops that attract bees. The moratorium has been criticized for being based on weak evidence, particularly because effects have mostly been measured on bees that have been artificially fed neonicotinoids. Thus, the key question is how neonicotinoids influence bees, and wild bees in particular, in real-world agricultural landscapes. Here we show that a commonly used insecticide seed coating in a flowering crop can have serious consequences for wild bees. In a study with replicated and matched landscapes, we found that seed coating with Elado, an insecticide containing a combination of the neonicotinoid clothianidin and the non-systemic pyrethroid β-cyfluthrin, applied to oilseed rape seeds, reduced wild bee density, solitary bee nesting, and bumblebee colony growth and reproduction under field conditions. Hence, such insecticidal use can pose a substantial risk to wild bees in agricultural landscapes, and the contribution of pesticides to the global decline of wild bees may have been underestimated. The lack of a significant response in honeybee colonies suggests that reported pesticide effects on honeybees cannot always be extrapolated to wild bees. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Nature
volume
521
issue
7550
pages
77 - 162
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:25901681
  • wos:000354040900036
  • scopus:84929103906
  • pmid:25901681
ISSN
0028-0836
DOI
10.1038/nature14420
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
bde77f94-b41f-4327-9228-2f561370cbce (old id 5340959)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:16:24
date last changed
2022-10-25 23:32:36
@article{bde77f94-b41f-4327-9228-2f561370cbce,
  abstract     = {{Understanding the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees is vital because of reported declines in bee diversity and distribution and the crucial role bees have as pollinators in ecosystems and agriculture. Neonicotinoids are suspected to pose an unacceptable risk to bees, partly because of their systemic uptake in plants, and the European Union has therefore introduced a moratorium on three neonicotinoids as seed coatings in flowering crops that attract bees. The moratorium has been criticized for being based on weak evidence, particularly because effects have mostly been measured on bees that have been artificially fed neonicotinoids. Thus, the key question is how neonicotinoids influence bees, and wild bees in particular, in real-world agricultural landscapes. Here we show that a commonly used insecticide seed coating in a flowering crop can have serious consequences for wild bees. In a study with replicated and matched landscapes, we found that seed coating with Elado, an insecticide containing a combination of the neonicotinoid clothianidin and the non-systemic pyrethroid β-cyfluthrin, applied to oilseed rape seeds, reduced wild bee density, solitary bee nesting, and bumblebee colony growth and reproduction under field conditions. Hence, such insecticidal use can pose a substantial risk to wild bees in agricultural landscapes, and the contribution of pesticides to the global decline of wild bees may have been underestimated. The lack of a significant response in honeybee colonies suggests that reported pesticide effects on honeybees cannot always be extrapolated to wild bees.}},
  author       = {{Rundlöf, Maj and Andersson, Georg K.S. and Bommarco, Riccardo and Fries, Ingemar and Hederström, Veronica and Herbertsson, Lina and Jonsson, Ove and Klatt, Björn and Pedersen, Thorsten R and Yourstone, Johanna and Smith, Henrik}},
  issn         = {{0028-0836}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7550}},
  pages        = {{77--162}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Nature}},
  title        = {{Seed coating with a neonicotinoid insecticide negatively affects wild bees.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14420}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/nature14420}},
  volume       = {{521}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}