Novel indices reveal that pollinator exposure to pesticides varies across biological compartments and crop surroundings.

Declines in insect pollinators have been linked to a range of causative factors such as disease, loss of habitats, the quality and availability of food, and exposure to pesticides. Here, we analysed an extensive dataset generated from pesticide screening of foraging insects, pollen-nectar stores/beebread, pollen and ingested nectar across three species of bees collected at 128 European sites set in two types of crop. In this paper, we aimed to (i) derive a new index to summarise key aspects of complex pesticide exposure data and (ii) understand the links between pesticide exposures depicted by the different matrices, bee species and apple orchards versus oilseed rape crops. We found that summary indices were highly correlated with the number of pesticides detected in the related matrix but not with which pesticides were present. Matrices collected from apple orchards generally contained a higher number of pesticides (7.6 pesticides per site) than matrices from sites collected from oilseed rape crops (3.5 pesticides), with fungicides being highly represented in apple crops. A greater number of pesticides were found in pollen-nectar stores/beebread and pollen matrices compared with nectar and bee body matrices. Our results show that for a complete assessment of pollinator pesticide exposure, it is necessary to consider several different exposure routes and multiple species of bees across different agricultural systems.

Pesticide residues in beehive matrices are dependent on collection time and matrix type but independent of proportion of foraged oilseed rape and agricultural land in foraging territory.

Pesticide residues in bee products is still a major issue. However, the relations to botanical source and land use characteristics are not clear. The large variability of residues detected questions the suitability of bee-collected- and other hive materials as indicators for environmental contamination. The aim of our study was to clarify whether different beehive matrices contain similar pesticide residues, and how these are correlated with forage preferences and land use types in foraging areas. We tested bee-collected pollen, beebread, honey, nurse bees and honey bee larvae for the presence of concurrently used agricultural pesticides in Estonia. Samples were collected at the end of May and mid-July to include the main crop in northern region - winter and spring oilseed rape (Brassica napus). We saw that different beehive matrices contained various types of pesticide residues in different proportions: pollen and beebread tended to contain more insecticides and fungicides, whereas herbicides represented the primary contaminant in honey. The variations were related to collection year and time but were not related to crops as basic forage resource nor the land use type. We found few positive correlations between amount of pesticides and proportion of pollen from any particular plant family. None of these correlations were related to any land-use type. We conclude that pesticide residues in different honey bee colony components vary largely in amount and composition. The occurrence rate of pesticide residues was not linked to any particular crop.

Potential of Colorado Potato Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to Adapt to Alternative Host Plants.

Twelve selected cultivated or wild solanaceae (Solanum dulcamara, Solanum nigrum, Solanum villosum, Solanum lycopersicum, Solanum muricatum, Solanum melongena, Datura innoxia, Datura metel, Physalis spp., Capsicum annuum, Nicotiana alata, and Petunia spp.) (all species Solanales: Solanaceae) were tested as potential alternative host plants against Solanum tuberosum for a local population of the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say (CPB) in Estonia. Some CPB populations in America and southern Europe accept most of these plants. However, geographically isolated populations of beetles can differ in their acceptance of new host plants. Migrants from the southern Europe supplement Estonian beetle population regularly, so individuals may differ in their host plant preferences. S. melongena and S. dulcamara were well accepted by the beetles, Lycopersicum spp. (Solanales: Solanaceae) and N. alata were intermediate, and S. villosum and S. nigrum were least accepted. The beetles rejected S. muricatum, Physalis spp., C. annuum, Petunia spp., and D. metel. First-instar larvae completed a full life cycle only on S. dulcamara, N. alata, S. lycopesicum, S. melongena, although their development rate was slower, mortality was higher and emerging adults were underweight relative to those that fed on S. tuberosum. The fourth-instar larvae were less sensitive in relation to food. We found that S. dulcamara as a native plant could provide resources for CPB during early and late season. At the same time, the cultivated S. melongena would be suitable plant species for further testing as dead-end crop for integrated pest management.

The opening-closing rhythms of the subelytral cavity associated with gas exchange patterns in diapausing Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata.

The opening-closing rhythms of the subelytral cavity and associated gas exchange patterns were monitored in diapausing Leptinotarsa decemlineata beetles. Measurements were made by means of a flow-through CO2 analyser and a coulometric respirometer. Under the elytra of these beetles there is a more or less tightly enclosed space, the subelytral cavity (SEC). When the cavity was tightly closed, air pressure inside was sub-atmospheric, as a result of oxygen uptake into the tracheae by the beetle. In about half of the beetles, regular opening-closing rhythms of the SEC were observed visually and also recorded; these beetles displayed a discontinuous gas exchange pattern. The SEC opened at the start of the CO2 burst and was immediately closed. On opening, a rapid passive suction inflow of atmospheric air into the SEC occurred, recorded coulometrically as a sharp upward peak. As the CO2 burst lasted beyond the closure of the SEC, we suggest that most of the CO2 was expelled through the mesothoracic spiracles. In the remaining beetles, the SEC was continually semi-open, and cyclic gas exchange was exhibited. The locking mechanisms and structures between the elytra and between the elytra and the body were examined under a stereomicroscope and by means of microphotography. We conclude that at least some of the L. decemlineata diapausing beetles were able to close their subelytral cavity tightly, and that the cavity then served as a water-saving device.

Electrophysiological responses from neurons of antennal taste sensilla in the polyphagous predatory ground beetle Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (Fabricius 1787) to plant sugars and amino acids.

The responses of antennal contact chemoreceptors, in the polyphagous predatory ground beetle Pterostichus oblongopunctatus, to twelve 1-1,000 mmol l(-1) plant sugars and seven 10-100 mmol l(-1) amino acids were tested. The disaccharides with an alpha-1.4-glycoside linkage, sucrose and maltose, were the two most stimulatory sugars for the sugar-sensitive neuron innervating these contact chemosensilla. The firing rates they evoked were concentration dependent and reached up to 70 impulses/s at 1,000 mmol l(-1). The stimulatory effect of glucose on this neuron was approximately two times lower. This can be partly explained by the fact that glucose exists in at least two anomeric forms, alpha and beta. These two forms interconvert over a timescale of hours in aqueous solution, to a final stable ratio of alpha:beta 36:64, in a process called mutarotation. So the physiologically active alpha-anomere forms only 36% of the glucose solution which was reflected in its relatively low dose/response curve. Due to the partial herbivory of P. oblongopunctatus these plant sugars are probably involved in its search for food, for example, for conifer seeds. Several carbohydrates, in addition to glucose, such as cellobiose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, rhamnose and galactose are known as components of cellulose and hemicelluloses. They are released by brown-rot fungi during enzymatic wood decay. None of them stimulated the antennal sugar-sensitive neuron. They are therefore not implicated in the search for hibernation sites, which include rotting wood, by this beetle. The weak stimulating effect (below 3 impulses/s) of some 100 mmol l(-1) amino acids (methionine, serine, alanine, glutamine) to the 4th chemosensory neuron of these sensilla was characterized as non-specific, or modulating the responses of non-target chemosensory neurons.

Impact of alpha-cypermethrin on honey bees foraging on spring oilseed rape (Brassica napus) flowers in field conditions.

BACKGROUND: Cruciferous oil-bearing crops have gained in importance worldwide. The expansion of the growing area of these crops has caused a proliferation of pests. Exposure to organophosphate, carbamate and pyrethroid insecticides has been associated with bee poisoning in food crops. This study examines the repellent effect of alpha-cypermethrin on the number of foraging honey bees, Apis mellifera L., on fields of spring oilseed rape, Brassica napus L. var. oleifera. RESULTS: The first experiment was conducted on differently sprayed 10 m(2) experimental plots where alpha-cypermethrin was applied at different times. Another experiment was conducted on a 4 ha seed production field divided into two parts: one part was treated with alpha-cypermethrin and the other was not treated with this insecticide. The results show that there was no difference in the number of honey bees between alpha-cypermethrin-treated and untreated patches. The result persisted through three observation years, regardless of varying flower and honey bee densities. CONCLUSION: No repellent effect of the insecticide on honey bees was found even 24 h after spraying. The density of oilseed rape flowers most likely played a major role in choosing the foraging area.