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Sulfoximines, a class of pesticides now being adopted worldwide as a replacement for compounds known to harm pollinators, themselves diminish queen bumblebees’ reproductive capacity, a new study finds. In a report published today (August 15) in Nature, researchers report that colonies founded by queens exposed to small amounts of sulfoxaflor, an insecticide that kills aphids, psyllids, and other pests, produce 54 percent fewer male drones than do unexposed colonies—and no new queen bees at all.
“Our study highlights that stressors that do not directly kill bees can still have damaging effects further down the line, because the health of the colony depends on the health of its workforce,” coauthor Elli Leadbeater of Royal Holloway University of London tells The Irish News.
Leadbeater and her coauthors captured wild queen bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) and fed them and their new colonies either a control sugar solution or one spiked with ...
