The effects of nectar-nicotine on colony fitness of caged honeybees

Journal of Chemical Ecology
Natarajan SingaravelanIdo Izhaki

Abstract

Nectar of many bee flowers contains secondary compounds, which are considered toxic for honeybees on repeated exposure. Although many anecdotal reports indicate the toxicity of secondary compounds to bees, only a few studies have tested the extent of toxicity at different honeybee ages, especially at the larval stages. Honeybees encounter nicotine at trace concentrations (between 0.1 and 5 ppm) in floral nectar of a few Nicotiana spp. and in Tilia cordata. Adult honeybee workers tolerate these nicotine concentrations. In controlled nonchoice feeding experiments with caged bees, we investigated the effect of nicotine on hatching success and larval and forager survival. Naturally occurring concentrations of nectar-nicotine did not affect hatching success of larvae or their survival, but the latter was negatively affected by higher concentrations of nicotine (50 ppm). Concentrations of nicotine in fresh honey samples from the hives were 90% lower than the concentrations in the offered experimental sucrose solutions. Our results indicate that honeybees can cope with naturally occurring concentrations of nicotine, without notable mortality, even when consumed in large quantities for more than 3 weeks.

References

May 1, 1974·Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry·L C Terriere, S J Yu
Mar 31, 2000·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·D M RichardsonM Rejmánek
Dec 21, 2005·Journal of Chemical Ecology·Natarajan SingaravelanIdo Izhaki

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Citations

Dec 21, 2005·Journal of Chemical Ecology·Natarajan SingaravelanIdo Izhaki
Mar 5, 2016·Toxins·Szymon ChowańskiSabino A Bufo
Dec 22, 2011·Journal of Insect Physiology·Angela KöhlerSusan W Nicolson
May 14, 2014·Journal of Insect Physiology·H HumanS W Nicolson
Oct 24, 2014·Annual Review of Entomology·Reed M Johnson
Nov 8, 2016·Ecotoxicology·Youhui Gong, Qingyun Diao
Jul 1, 2015·Scientific Reports·Yana Aizenberg-GershteinMalka Halpern
Jan 1, 2015·F1000Research·Lukas P ThorburnEvan C Palmer-Young
Jul 20, 2011·Canadian Journal on Aging = La Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement·Norah KeatingStephanie Fletcher
Oct 6, 2017·Journal of Economic Entomology·Evan C Palmer-YoungJay D Evans
Jan 5, 2013·Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture·Khalid M Swaileh, Ahed Abdulkhaliq
Feb 15, 2014·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Erin Jo TiedekenGeraldine A Wright
Jan 24, 2018·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Junjun ZhangJames C Nieh
Apr 29, 2014·Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry·Rebecca E IrwinDale R Gardner

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