Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid

Autores
Hunkeler, Catalina; Lajad, Rocio; Farina, Walter Marcelo; Arenas, Andres
Año de publicación
2026
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) play a crucial role in ecosystems by providing essential pollination services, but their performance is increasingly affected by various stressors, with agrochemicals posing a growing threat. Glyphosate (GLY), a widely used herbicide, and Imidacloprid (IMI), a common insecticide, have been shown to exert sub-lethal effects on honey bees when exposed to field-realistic concentrations. Despite this, little is known about bees’ sensitivity to agrochemicals and their ability to avoid contaminated resources. In this study, we investigated whether young worker bees are capable of assessing agrochemical contamination by testing whether they learn to avoid contaminated pollen. To assess this, we quantified consumption preferences for two pure monofloral pollens before, during and after exposure to one of these pollen types contaminated with GLY or IMI at varying concentrations. Our results showed significant reductions in consumption preferences, with decreases ranging from 10.7% to 23.2% for pollen contaminated with different doses of GLY, and from 12.7% to 20.0% for pollen contaminated with different doses of IMI, suggesting that honey bees can respond to the presence of these agrochemicals and learn to avoid contaminated food. We propose that avoidance behaviour may arise when bees associate specific pollen cues with malaise experiences. Avoidance would allow bees to minimize exposure to environmental pollutants, which could enhance their ability to adapt to and survive in anthropogenic environments.
Fil: Hunkeler, Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina
Fil: Lajad, Rocio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentina
Fil: Farina, Walter Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; Argentina
Fil: Arenas, Andres. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentina
Materia
Honey bee
Apis mellifera
pesticide-contaminated pollen
pollen preferences
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/287679
Acceder
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network_acronym_str CONICETDig
repository_id_str 3498
network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidaclopridHunkeler, CatalinaLajad, RocioFarina, Walter MarceloArenas, AndresHoney beeApis melliferapesticide-contaminated pollenpollen preferenceshttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1Honey bees (Apis mellifera) play a crucial role in ecosystems by providing essential pollination services, but their performance is increasingly affected by various stressors, with agrochemicals posing a growing threat. Glyphosate (GLY), a widely used herbicide, and Imidacloprid (IMI), a common insecticide, have been shown to exert sub-lethal effects on honey bees when exposed to field-realistic concentrations. Despite this, little is known about bees’ sensitivity to agrochemicals and their ability to avoid contaminated resources. In this study, we investigated whether young worker bees are capable of assessing agrochemical contamination by testing whether they learn to avoid contaminated pollen. To assess this, we quantified consumption preferences for two pure monofloral pollens before, during and after exposure to one of these pollen types contaminated with GLY or IMI at varying concentrations. Our results showed significant reductions in consumption preferences, with decreases ranging from 10.7% to 23.2% for pollen contaminated with different doses of GLY, and from 12.7% to 20.0% for pollen contaminated with different doses of IMI, suggesting that honey bees can respond to the presence of these agrochemicals and learn to avoid contaminated food. We propose that avoidance behaviour may arise when bees associate specific pollen cues with malaise experiences. Avoidance would allow bees to minimize exposure to environmental pollutants, which could enhance their ability to adapt to and survive in anthropogenic environments.Fil: Hunkeler, Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Lajad, Rocio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Farina, Walter Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Arenas, Andres. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaSpringer2026-02info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/287679Hunkeler, Catalina; Lajad, Rocio; Farina, Walter Marcelo; Arenas, Andres; Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid; Springer; Scientific Reports; 16; 2-2026; 1-122045-2322CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35416-6info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2026-08-25T14:37:25Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/287679instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982026-08-25 14:37:26.184CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid
title Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid
spellingShingle Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid
Hunkeler, Catalina
Honey bee
Apis mellifera
pesticide-contaminated pollen
pollen preferences
title_short Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid
title_full Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid
title_fullStr Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid
title_full_unstemmed Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid
title_sort Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Hunkeler, Catalina
Lajad, Rocio
Farina, Walter Marcelo
Arenas, Andres
author Hunkeler, Catalina
author_facet Hunkeler, Catalina
Lajad, Rocio
Farina, Walter Marcelo
Arenas, Andres
author_role author
author2 Lajad, Rocio
Farina, Walter Marcelo
Arenas, Andres
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Honey bee
Apis mellifera
pesticide-contaminated pollen
pollen preferences
topic Honey bee
Apis mellifera
pesticide-contaminated pollen
pollen preferences
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Honey bees (Apis mellifera) play a crucial role in ecosystems by providing essential pollination services, but their performance is increasingly affected by various stressors, with agrochemicals posing a growing threat. Glyphosate (GLY), a widely used herbicide, and Imidacloprid (IMI), a common insecticide, have been shown to exert sub-lethal effects on honey bees when exposed to field-realistic concentrations. Despite this, little is known about bees’ sensitivity to agrochemicals and their ability to avoid contaminated resources. In this study, we investigated whether young worker bees are capable of assessing agrochemical contamination by testing whether they learn to avoid contaminated pollen. To assess this, we quantified consumption preferences for two pure monofloral pollens before, during and after exposure to one of these pollen types contaminated with GLY or IMI at varying concentrations. Our results showed significant reductions in consumption preferences, with decreases ranging from 10.7% to 23.2% for pollen contaminated with different doses of GLY, and from 12.7% to 20.0% for pollen contaminated with different doses of IMI, suggesting that honey bees can respond to the presence of these agrochemicals and learn to avoid contaminated food. We propose that avoidance behaviour may arise when bees associate specific pollen cues with malaise experiences. Avoidance would allow bees to minimize exposure to environmental pollutants, which could enhance their ability to adapt to and survive in anthropogenic environments.
Fil: Hunkeler, Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina
Fil: Lajad, Rocio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentina
Fil: Farina, Walter Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; Argentina
Fil: Arenas, Andres. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentina
description Honey bees (Apis mellifera) play a crucial role in ecosystems by providing essential pollination services, but their performance is increasingly affected by various stressors, with agrochemicals posing a growing threat. Glyphosate (GLY), a widely used herbicide, and Imidacloprid (IMI), a common insecticide, have been shown to exert sub-lethal effects on honey bees when exposed to field-realistic concentrations. Despite this, little is known about bees’ sensitivity to agrochemicals and their ability to avoid contaminated resources. In this study, we investigated whether young worker bees are capable of assessing agrochemical contamination by testing whether they learn to avoid contaminated pollen. To assess this, we quantified consumption preferences for two pure monofloral pollens before, during and after exposure to one of these pollen types contaminated with GLY or IMI at varying concentrations. Our results showed significant reductions in consumption preferences, with decreases ranging from 10.7% to 23.2% for pollen contaminated with different doses of GLY, and from 12.7% to 20.0% for pollen contaminated with different doses of IMI, suggesting that honey bees can respond to the presence of these agrochemicals and learn to avoid contaminated food. We propose that avoidance behaviour may arise when bees associate specific pollen cues with malaise experiences. Avoidance would allow bees to minimize exposure to environmental pollutants, which could enhance their ability to adapt to and survive in anthropogenic environments.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026-02
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/287679
Hunkeler, Catalina; Lajad, Rocio; Farina, Walter Marcelo; Arenas, Andres; Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid; Springer; Scientific Reports; 16; 2-2026; 1-12
2045-2322
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/287679
identifier_str_mv Hunkeler, Catalina; Lajad, Rocio; Farina, Walter Marcelo; Arenas, Andres; Young honey bees Apis mellifera learn to avoid pollen contaminated with glyphosate or imidacloprid; Springer; Scientific Reports; 16; 2-2026; 1-12
2045-2322
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35416-6
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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