title: Biopesticide-induced behavioral and morphological alterations in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata.
abstract: Because of their natural origin, biopesticides are assumed to be less harmful to beneficial insects, including bees, and therefore their use has been widely encouraged for crop protection. There is little evidence, however, to support this ingrained notion of biopesticide safety to pollinators. Because larval exposure is still largely unexplored in ecotoxicology and risk assessment on bees, an investigation was performed on the lethal and sublethal effects of a diet treated with 2 bioinsecticides, azadirachtin and spinosad, on the stingless bee, Melipona quadrifasciata, which is one of the most important pollinators in the Neotropics. Survival of stingless bee larvae was significantly compromised at doses above 210 ng a.i./bee for azadirachtin and 114 ng a.i./bee for spinosad. No sublethal effect was observed on larvae developmental time, but doses of both compounds negatively affected pupal body mass. Azadirachtin produced deformed pupae and adults as a result of its insect growth regulator properties, but spinosad was more harmful and produced greater numbers of deformed individuals. Only spinosad compromised walking activity of the adult workers at doses as low as 2.29 ng a.i./bee, which is 1/5000 of the maximum field recommended rate. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that bioinsecticides can pose significant risks to native pollinators with lethal and sublethal effects; future investigations are needed on the likelihood of such effects under field conditions.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.|Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Wagner F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hudson Vaner V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Tomé
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Bernardes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Augusta L
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Siqueira
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Smagghe
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Raul Narciso C
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Guedes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D061046:Biological Control Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D004338:Drug Combinations; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D036701:Limonins / Q000633:toxicity; D018942:Macrolides / Q000633:toxicity; D011679:Pupa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D061046:Biological Control Agents; D004338:Drug Combinations; D036701:Limonins; D018942:Macrolides; C010329:azadirachtin; C415329:spinosad
keywords: Behavioral impact; Bioinsecticides; Meliponini; Native pollinators; Sublethal effects