Honeybee tracking with microchips: a new methodology to measure the effects of pesticides.
Losses of foraging bees are sometimes attributed to altered flight pattern between a meliferous plant treated with an insecticide and the hive. Only a limited number of studies has investigated the impact of pesticides on homing flight due to the difficulty of measuring the flight time between the food source and the hive. Monitoring the flights of the foraging bees needs their individual identification. The number of bees monitored simultaneously and the time span during which observations can be made limit most of the monitoring techniques. However, techniques of automatic tracking and identification of individuals have the potential to revolutionize the study of the ecotoxicological effects of xenobiotics on the bee behaviors. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) offer numerous advantages such as an unlimited number of codes, a large number of simultaneous recording, and a quick reading, especially through materials (e.g., wood). The aim of this study was to show how the RFID device can be used to study the effects of pesticides on both the behavioral traits and the lifespan of bees. In this context, we have developed a method under tunnel to automatically record the displacements of foragers individualized with RFID tags and to detect the alteration of the flight pattern between an artificial feeder and the hive. Fipronil was selected as test substance due to the lack of information on the effects of this insecticide on the foraging behavior of free-flying bees. We showed that oral treatment of 0.3 ng of fipronil per bee (LD50/20) reduced the number of foraging trips. The strengths of our approach were briefly discussed.
ACTA, UMT PrADE, UMR 406, Site Agroparc, Avignon, France. axel.decourtye@acta.asso.fr
Axel
A
Decourtye
James
J
Devillers
Pierrick
P
Aupinel
François
F
Brun
Camille
C
Bagnis
Julie
J
Fourrier
Monique
M
Gauthier
D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000187:drug effects*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D007306:Insecticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011720:Pyrazoles / Q000633:toxicity*; D057233:Radio Frequency Identification Device; D058998:Remote Sensing Technology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods
D007306:Insecticides; D011720:Pyrazoles; C082360:fipronil
Pest Manag Sci. 2003 Mar;59(3):269-78
12639043
Invert Neurosci. 2009 Nov;9(2):91-100
19851797
Annu Rev Neurosci. 2001;24:1283-309
11520934
Annu Rev Entomol. 2007;52:81-106
16842032
Exp Biol. 1987;46(3):115-25
3582581
Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2008 Nov;90(4):589-95
18755283
J Neurophysiol. 1965 May;28:497-518
14328449
Zoology (Jena). 2003;106(3):169-71
16351902
Neurotoxicology. 2003 Dec;24(6):807-15
14637375
Environ Toxicol Chem. 2003 Dec;22(12):3088-94
14713054
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2004 Oct;47(3):387-95
15386133
Behav Brain Res. 2000 Oct;115(1):49-53
10996407
Environ Toxicol Chem. 2009 Jan;28(1):113-22
18700810
J Econ Entomol. 2008 Dec;101(6):1743-8
19133451
PLoS One. 2008;3(12):e4071
19115015
J Invertebr Pathol. 2006 Jun;92(2):93-5
16574143
PLoS Biol. 2007 Jun;5(6):e168
17564497
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2005 Feb;48(2):242-50
15750780
Sci Total Environ. 2007 Apr 15;376(1-3):1-17
17307234
J Neurobiol. 2002 Feb 15;50(3):245-61
11810639
Environ Toxicol Chem. 2001 Nov;20(11):2482-6
11699773
Environ Entomol. 2009 Jun;38(3):514-23
19508759
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2005 Sep;82(1):30-9
16102801
Pest Manag Sci. 2007 Nov;63(11):1058-61
17879982
J Comp Neurol. 1993 Aug 15;334(3):444-65
8376627