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Clothianidin seed-treatment has no detectable negative impact on honeybee colonies and their pathogens

Osterman, Julia ; Wintermantel, Dimitry ; Locke, Barbara ; Jonsson, Ove ; Semberg, Emilia ; Onorati, Piero ; Forsgren, Eva ; Rosenkranz, Peter ; Rahbek-Pedersen, Thorsten and Bommarco, Riccardo LU , et al. (2019) In Nature Communications 10(1).
Abstract

Interactions between multiple stressors have been implicated in elevated honeybee colony losses. Here, we extend our landscape-scale study on the effects of placement at clothianidin seed-treated oilseed rape fields on honeybees with an additional year and new data on honeybee colony development, swarming, mortality, pathogens and immune gene expression. Clothianidin residues in pollen, nectar and honeybees were consistently higher at clothianidin-treated fields, with large differences between fields and years. We found large variations in colony development and microbial composition and no observable negative impact of placement at clothianidin-treated fields. Clothianidin treatment was associated with an increase in brood, adult bees... (More)

Interactions between multiple stressors have been implicated in elevated honeybee colony losses. Here, we extend our landscape-scale study on the effects of placement at clothianidin seed-treated oilseed rape fields on honeybees with an additional year and new data on honeybee colony development, swarming, mortality, pathogens and immune gene expression. Clothianidin residues in pollen, nectar and honeybees were consistently higher at clothianidin-treated fields, with large differences between fields and years. We found large variations in colony development and microbial composition and no observable negative impact of placement at clothianidin-treated fields. Clothianidin treatment was associated with an increase in brood, adult bees and Gilliamella apicola (beneficial gut symbiont) and a decrease in Aphid lethal paralysis virus and Black queen cell virus - particularly in the second year. The results suggest that at colony level, honeybees are relatively robust to the effects of clothianidin in real-world agricultural landscapes, with moderate, natural disease pressure.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Nature Communications
volume
10
issue
1
article number
692
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • scopus:85061288839
  • pmid:30741934
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/s41467-019-08523-4
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
56a5586b-3a19-4542-93d3-83c3caef323a
date added to LUP
2019-02-18 13:22:03
date last changed
2024-02-14 18:04:49
@article{56a5586b-3a19-4542-93d3-83c3caef323a,
  abstract     = {{<p>Interactions between multiple stressors have been implicated in elevated honeybee colony losses. Here, we extend our landscape-scale study on the effects of placement at clothianidin seed-treated oilseed rape fields on honeybees with an additional year and new data on honeybee colony development, swarming, mortality, pathogens and immune gene expression. Clothianidin residues in pollen, nectar and honeybees were consistently higher at clothianidin-treated fields, with large differences between fields and years. We found large variations in colony development and microbial composition and no observable negative impact of placement at clothianidin-treated fields. Clothianidin treatment was associated with an increase in brood, adult bees and Gilliamella apicola (beneficial gut symbiont) and a decrease in Aphid lethal paralysis virus and Black queen cell virus - particularly in the second year. The results suggest that at colony level, honeybees are relatively robust to the effects of clothianidin in real-world agricultural landscapes, with moderate, natural disease pressure.</p>}},
  author       = {{Osterman, Julia and Wintermantel, Dimitry and Locke, Barbara and Jonsson, Ove and Semberg, Emilia and Onorati, Piero and Forsgren, Eva and Rosenkranz, Peter and Rahbek-Pedersen, Thorsten and Bommarco, Riccardo and Smith, Henrik G. and Rundlöf, Maj and de Miranda, Joachim R.}},
  issn         = {{2041-1723}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Nature Communications}},
  title        = {{Clothianidin seed-treatment has no detectable negative impact on honeybee colonies and their pathogens}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08523-4}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41467-019-08523-4}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}