title: Neonicotinoid pesticide reduces bumble bee colony growth and queen production.
abstract: Growing evidence for declines in bee populations has caused great concern because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide. Neonicotinoid insecticides have been implicated in these declines because they occur at trace levels in the nectar and pollen of crop plants. We exposed colonies of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris in the laboratory to field-realistic levels of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, then allowed them to develop naturally under field conditions. Treated colonies had a significantly reduced growth rate and suffered an 85% reduction in production of new queens compared with control colonies. Given the scale of use of neonicotinoids, we suggest that they may be having a considerable negative impact on wild bumble bee populations across the developed world.
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.
authors.forename: Penelope R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Whitehorn
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Felix L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Wackers
authors.forename: Dave
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goulson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000633:toxicity*; D007306:Insecticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D000073943:Neonicotinoids; D009574:Nitro Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D011058:Pollen; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011897:Random Allocation; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D007093:Imidazoles; D007306:Insecticides; D000073943:Neonicotinoids; D009574:Nitro Compounds; C082359:imidacloprid