title: Neonicotinoids interfere with specific components of navigation in honeybees.
abstract: Three neonicotinoids, imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiacloprid, agonists of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in the central brain of insects, were applied at non-lethal doses in order to test their effects on honeybee navigation. A catch-and-release experimental design was applied in which feeder trained bees were caught when arriving at the feeder, treated with one of the neonicotinoids, and released 1.5 hours later at a remote site. The flight paths of individual bees were tracked with harmonic radar. The initial flight phase controlled by the recently acquired navigation memory (vector memory) was less compromised than the second phase that leads the animal back to the hive (homing flight). The rate of successful return was significantly lower in treated bees, the probability of a correct turn at a salient landscape structure was reduced, and less directed flights during homing flights were performed. Since the homing phase in catch-and-release experiments documents the ability of a foraging honeybee to activate a remote memory acquired during its exploratory orientation flights, we conclude that non-lethal doses of the three neonicotinoids tested either block the retrieval of exploratory navigation memory or alter this form of navigation memory. These findings are discussed in the context of the application of neonicotinoids in plant protection.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Bienenkunde Oberursel, Polytechnische Gesellschaft Frankfurt am Main, Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Institut für Bienenkunde Oberursel, Polytechnische Gesellschaft Frankfurt am Main, Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Netzwerk Blühende Landschaften Fischermühle, Rosenfeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne-Kathrin
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Spatz
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Greggers
authors.affiliation: Institut für Bienenkunde Oberursel, Polytechnische Gesellschaft Frankfurt am Main, Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grünewald
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Randolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Menzel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D006146:Guanidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D006702:Homing Behavior / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D000073943:Neonicotinoids; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009574:Nitro Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D009949:Orientation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011725:Pyridines / Q000494:pharmacology; D011825:Radar; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000378:metabolism; D065854:Spatial Navigation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013843:Thiazines / Q000494:pharmacology; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D006146:Guanidines; D007093:Imidazoles; D000073943:Neonicotinoids; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D009574:Nitro Compounds; D011725:Pyridines; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D013843:Thiazines; D013844:Thiazoles; C480342:clothianidin; C082359:imidacloprid; C417209:thiacloprid