For years, studies have warned of the negative effects of toxins on pollination, but even the chemicals that do not kill the bees could make them drugged and make them too sleepy to display work. .
Two new studies from Bristol University show that widely used pesticides are throwing off the sleeping table of bees and flies, and their poor sleep is causing a huge blow to their nectar juice , according to a report released Thursday by CNN.
One of the studies was the effect of neonicotinoids, a commonly used pesticide, on bumblebee behavior. Researchers gave the bees nectar with the insect – at dosage the bees would cross the country – and then monitor their movements.
There was no doubt about the impact. The material effectively puts the bumblebees on a kind of nocturnal movement, increasing their food at night, when flowers are not available, and causing them to crawl during the day, when they usually accumulate the most nectar.
Kiah Tasman, one of the study’s lead authors, told CNN: “The body clock seems to be disturbing in the search for bumblebees – they feed much less, more of that hunting takes place at night, and they sleep a lot more during the day. This causes bad behavior on the normal side. ”
“If the time they manage to go out and forage overnight when flowers are not available is going to greatly reduce their success in growing. collecting the food that the colony needs to grow and reproduce, “said Tasman, who teaches a fellowship at the University of Bristol ‘s School of Psychology, Geology and Neuroscience.
Tasman said this “slow” behavior and the decline in hunting incentives, which has also been seen in other studies, could have a devastating effect on pollination.
Humans and many other species rely on pollination such as bees and flies to produce our plant-based food sources – such as fruit and vegetables. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), nearly 90% of plants and 75% of the world’s major crops are dependent on animal pollination.
To put it another way, pollinators are responsible for one in three food we eat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says. The sharp decline in bee numbers around the world is therefore a matter of great concern.
A second study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports focused on the effects of neonicotinoids on flies. Researchers monitored the flies with infrared beams after they were exposed to the common insect.
The experiment showed that the neonicotinoids target the cells in the brain that run the flies’ body clock, disturbing them when they should be awake or asleep, and damage memory. aca.
Tasman said the effect seen in the flies is very similar to what happens in bees. “It looks like these toxins freeze these cells in daytime form, so the body doesn’t know if it’s day or night,” she said.
Co-author of the study Sean Rands, a senior lecturer at Bristol School of Biological Sciences, said in the findings, “Brains and flies are brain-like structures, and this suggests one reason these drugs so bad for bees that they stop their bees from sleeping properly and then being able to learn where there is food in their environment. “
The studies provide new key insights into how toxins directly affect pollination. It could also shed new light on how toxins can be targeted to target specific pests, Tasman said.