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Published on: October 9, 2017
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Facing multiple threats: Diet-pesticide interactions in bumblebees
Alexandre Barraud1, Dalel Askri2, Lena Barascou3
1University of Mons, Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, Place du Parc 20, 7000, Mons, Belgium; Pollinis, 10 rue Saint-Marc, 75002, Paris, France.
The Science of the Total Environment
|October 30, 2025
Summary
Agrochemicals harm bumblebees, especially when nutrition is poor. Proteome analysis reveals pesticide impacts, highlighting the need for diverse floral resources and better pesticide risk assessment for pollinator conservation.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
- Toxicology
Background:
- Global change threatens pollinators, impacting vital pollination services.
- Agroecosystems pose risks to bees through reduced floral resources and pesticide exposure.
- Sublethal effects of combined stressors on bee health require investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interaction between nutritional and agrochemical stresses on bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) sublethal endpoints.
- To assess the impact of different pollen diets and pesticide exposures on bumblebee colony development and proteome.
- To determine if nutritional stress exacerbates pesticide toxicity in bumblebees.
Main Methods:
- Exposed bumblebee micro-colonies to two pollen diets of varying quality and quantity.
- Exposed colonies to various concentrations of insecticides (sulfoxaflor, cyantraniliprole), a fungicide (Amistar®; azoxystrobin), and an herbicide (glyphosate).
- Analyzed impacts on brood development and proteome across 29 experimental conditions.
Main Results:
- Insecticides negatively impacted brood development and proteome, irrespective of pollen availability.
- Fungicide (Amistar®) and herbicide (glyphosate) did not significantly affect brood development.
- Pesticide exposure altered the proteome, particularly in nutritionally stressed colonies, indicating diet-dependent molecular responses.
- Nutritional stress alone reduced colony development, but this was not synergistically amplified by sulfoxaflor, Amistar®, or glyphosate.
- Cyantraniliprole negatively affected colony development regardless of nutritional status.
Conclusions:
- Agrochemical effects on bumblebees are diet-dependent and can be detected through proteome analysis.
- Proteome analysis provides a sensitive method for detecting sublethal pesticide impacts.
- Conservation strategies should include providing diverse floral resources and refining pesticide risk assessments for pollinators.
- Protecting bumblebee populations requires addressing both nutritional deficits and pesticide exposure in agroecosystems.
