Exposure to sublethal levels of insecticide-fungicide mixtures affect reproductive success and population growth rates in the solitary bee Osmia cornuta.

ABSTRACT

In agricultural environments, bees are routinely exposed to combinations of pesticides. For the most part, exposure to these pesticide mixtures does not result in acute lethal effects, but we know very little about potential sublethal effects and their consequences on reproductive success and population dynamics. In this study, we orally exposed newly emerged females of the solitary bee Osmia cornuta to environmentally-relevant levels of acetamiprid (a cyano-substituted neonicotinoid insecticide) singly and in combination with tebuconazole (a sterol-biosynthesis inhibitor (SBI) fungicide). The amount of feeding solution consumed during the exposure phase was lowest in bees exposed to the pesticide mixture. Following exposure, females were individually marked and released into oilseed rape field cages to monitor their nesting performance and assess their reproductive success. The nesting performance and reproductive success of bees exposed to the fungicide or the insecticide alone were similar to those of control bees and resulted in a 1.3-1.7 net population increases. By contrast, bees exposed to the pesticide mixture showed lower establishment, shortened nesting period, and reduced fecundity. Together, these effects led to a 0.5-0.6 population decrease. Female establishment and shortened nesting period were the main population bottlenecks. We found no effects of the pesticide mixture on nest provisioning rate, offspring body weight or sex ratio. Our study shows how sublethal pesticide exposure may affect several components of bee reproductive success and, ultimately, population growth. Our results calls for a rethinking of pollinator risk assessment schemes, which should target not only single compounds but also combinations of compounds likely to co-occur in agricultural environments.