Bees become addicted to pesticides in the same way that humans grow dependent on cigarettes, new research has found. The more bees eat pesticides, the more they seem to want.
Controversial neonicotinoid pesticides are chemically similar to nicotine, the addictive compound in tobacco.The study found, the bees increasingly preferred food containing the pesticide-flavored sugar than normal sugar.
This study of bumblebee behaviour indicates that the risk of pesticide-contaminated food entering bee colonies may be higher than previously thought, which can have impacts on colony reproductive success.
Dr Richard Gill, from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, said: “Given a choice, naive bees appear to avoid neonicotinoid-treated food. However, as individual bees increasingly experience the treated food they develop a preference for it.
“Interestingly, neonicotinoids target nerve receptors in insects that are similar to receptors targeted by nicotine in mammals.
“Our findings that bumblebees acquire a taste for neonicotinoids ticks certain symptoms of addictive behaviour, which is intriguing given the addictive properties of nicotine on humans, although more research is needed to determine this in bees.”
In 2013 the European Union imposed a partial ban on three widely used neonicotinoids because of evidence that they may be harmful to bees.
The ban has now been extended to cover all crops not grown in greenhouses, despite strong opposition from some groups including the UK’s National Farmers’ Union, but it could be revoked following Brexit.
British researchers gave bumblebees in ten colonies a choice of two different food sources, one that was just straight sugar solution and one containing neonicotinoid pesticides over the course of ten days. Over time the bees visited the pesticide-laced food more and the other food less.
Lead scientist Dr Andres Arce, also from Imperial’s Department of Life Sciences, said “Whilst at first it appeared that the bees did avoid the food containing the pesticide, we found that over time the bumblebees increased their visits to pesticide-laden food.
“We now need to conduct further studies to try and understand the mechanism behind why they acquire this preference.”
>Juthy Saha
Bees Become Addicted to Harmful Pesticides
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