Pesticide use negatively affects bumble bees across European landscapes

Charlie C. Nicholson (), Jessica Knapp (), Tomasz Kiljanek, Matthias Albrecht, Marie-Pierre Chauzat, Cecilia Costa, Pilar Rúa, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Marika Mänd, Simon G. Potts, Oliver Schweiger, Irene Bottero, Elena Cini, Joachim R. Miranda, Gennaro Prisco, Christophe Dominik, Simon Hodge, Vera Kaunath, Anina Knauer, Marion Laurent, Vicente Martínez-López, Piotr Medrzycki, Maria Helena Pereira-Peixoto, Risto Raimets, Janine M. Schwarz, Deepa Senapathi, Giovanni Tamburini, Mark J. F. Brown, Jane C. Stout and Maj Rundlöf ()
Additional contact information
Charlie C. Nicholson: Lund University
Jessica Knapp: Lund University
Tomasz Kiljanek: National Veterinary Research Institute
Matthias Albrecht: Agroecology and Environment
Marie-Pierre Chauzat: Paris-Est University
Cecilia Costa: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics—Agriculture and Environment Research Centre
Pilar Rúa: University of Murcia
Alexandra-Maria Klein: University of Freiburg
Marika Mänd: Estonian University of Life Sciences
Simon G. Potts: University of Reading
Oliver Schweiger: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ
Irene Bottero: Trinity College Dublin
Elena Cini: University of Reading
Joachim R. Miranda: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Gennaro Prisco: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics—Agriculture and Environment Research Centre
Christophe Dominik: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ
Simon Hodge: Trinity College Dublin
Vera Kaunath: Lund University
Anina Knauer: Agroecology and Environment
Marion Laurent: Sophia Antipolis Laboratory, ANSES
Vicente Martínez-López: University of Murcia
Piotr Medrzycki: Council for Agricultural Research and Economics—Agriculture and Environment Research Centre
Maria Helena Pereira-Peixoto: University of Freiburg
Risto Raimets: Estonian University of Life Sciences
Janine M. Schwarz: Agroecology and Environment
Deepa Senapathi: University of Reading
Giovanni Tamburini: University of Freiburg
Mark J. F. Brown: Royal Holloway University of London
Jane C. Stout: Trinity College Dublin
Maj Rundlöf: Lund University

Nature, 2024, vol. 628, issue 8007, 355-358

Abstract: Abstract Sustainable agriculture requires balancing crop yields with the effects of pesticides on non-target organisms, such as bees and other crop pollinators. Field studies demonstrated that agricultural use of neonicotinoid insecticides can negatively affect wild bee species1,2, leading to restrictions on these compounds3. However, besides neonicotinoids, field-based evidence of the effects of landscape pesticide exposure on wild bees is lacking. Bees encounter many pesticides in agricultural landscapes4–9 and the effects of this landscape exposure on colony growth and development of any bee species remains unknown. Here we show that the many pesticides found in bumble bee-collected pollen are associated with reduced colony performance during crop bloom, especially in simplified landscapes with intensive agricultural practices. Our results from 316 Bombus terrestris colonies at 106 agricultural sites across eight European countries confirm that the regulatory system fails to sufficiently prevent pesticide-related impacts on non-target organisms, even for a eusocial pollinator species in which colony size may buffer against such impacts10,11. These findings support the need for postapproval monitoring of both pesticide exposure and effects to confirm that the regulatory process is sufficiently protective in limiting the collateral environmental damage of agricultural pesticide use.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06773-3

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