Pesticides attack bees in multiple ways throughout the body

The humble bumble bee, already battling habitat loss and climate change, faces another invisible enemy that attacks its body from multiple angles.

A new study reveals that a widely-used agricultural pesticide doesn’t just harm bees in one way – it disrupts different body tissues in distinct and concerning patterns, much like a multi-pronged assault on their health.

The research team, led by Professor Yannick Wurm at Queen Mary University of London, used cutting-edge molecular techniques to expose how the neonicotinoid pesticide clothianidin impacts various bee body parts differently.

Their findings paint a troubling picture of widespread disruption throughout the insects’ bodies.

How pesticides harm bumble bees

By exposing bumble bees to field-realistic doses of clothianidin, the researchers discovered that pesticide exposure doesn’t affect all body parts uniformly.

The study showed that 82% of gene activity changes caused by pesticides are specific to individual tissues. This specificity disrupts critical functions in the brain, legs, and kidney-like Malpighian tubules.

“Each tissue we examined was severely affected by the pesticide,” said Professor Wurm. “Seeing impacts of pesticide exposure across the body helps to explain the multi-faceted problems that exposed bees have, from impaired movement to reduced learning ability and compromised immunity.”

Distinct damage in different tissues

The study from Queen Mary University of London found that neonicotinoid pesticides like clothianidin cause distinct damage to different tissues in bumble bees, each critical for the insect’s survival.

In the brain, genes related to ion transport – essential for learning and memory – were disrupted, potentially impairing cognitive functions needed for navigation and problem-solving.

The hind femurs, vital for movement, showed changes in muscle-specific genes, which could weaken the bees’ ability to forage effectively or escape predators.

Additionally, the Malpighian tubules, which function similarly to kidneys, experienced reduced activity in detoxification genes. This decline compromises the bees’ ability to process and eliminate toxins, further endangering their health.

These molecular disruptions are particularly alarming because they resemble patterns typically associated with aging and even cancer in other organisms.

This suggests that pesticide exposure could have severe long-term impacts on pollinator populations, threatening their ability to sustain themselves and perform their crucial ecological roles.

Safety tests miss tissue-specific damage

Neonicotinoid pesticides like clothianidin are widely used in agriculture to protect crops, but their effects on non-target species like pollinators are often underestimated.

Current pesticide safety assessments rarely account for tissue-specific damage, focusing instead on generalized outcomes. This oversight means they fail to capture the full scope of sub-lethal impacts on vital pollinators.

“The findings suggest that traditional pesticide risk assessments, which often overlook tissue-specific damage, do not fully capture the sub-lethal impacts on pollinators,” explained Dr. Federico López-Osorio, co-author of the study.

Protecting bees form pesticides

The research highlights the urgent need to reassess how we test, regulate, and use pesticides. Bees play a crucial role in pollinating crops and maintaining ecosystems, yet the multi-tissue effects of pesticides jeopardize their survival and the biodiversity they support.

“We apply pesticides without fully understanding their effects on beneficial insect pollinators,” said study lead author Dr. Alicja Witwicka.

“Our findings show that every tissue is compromised in ways that undermine its vital role, which is why the effects are so devastating and widespread. This research is a call to action to rethink how we assess, regulate and apply pesticides, not only to protect pollinators but the ecosystems that depend on them.”

Biodiversity loss: A growing crisis

Pollinators, such as bumble bees, play a vital role in global agriculture by enabling the production of many fruits, nuts, and vegetables that make up a substantial portion of the human diet. Their work as pollinators is essential for the reproduction of plants that provide food for people and animals alike.

Beyond agriculture, bumble bees are crucial for maintaining biodiversity and supporting ecosystems. They help pollinate wild plants, which in turn sustain various animal species and preserve the balance of natural habitats.

However, the increasing loss of biodiversity has become a growing concern worldwide. Governments and citizens are striving to set ambitious goals to reverse these declines and restore ecosystems to health.

This research on bumble bees provides a compelling reason to rethink how we use pesticides. The health of pollinators – and the ecosystems they sustain – depends on it.

The study is published in the journal Science of The Total Environment.

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