Effects of imidacloprid on survival and nest development in the neo-tropical bumblebee Bombus ephippiatus

Abstract

The use of pesticides is one of the causes that contribute to the decline of bumblebees worldwide. Some effects of neonicotinoids are known on bumblebees from temperate climates; however, there are no studies carried out with species from tropical climates, in which there could be different effects since they have different ecological traits. We demonstrated that in a neo-tropical bumblebee, B. ephippiatus, exposed to field-realistic levels of imidacloprid, bee survival, and colony growth, were significantly reduced. The most important conclusion of our study is that tropical bumblebees are affected in a similar way to temperate species.