Evaluating the Impact of Post-Emergence Weed Control in Honeybee Colonies Located in Different Agricultural Surroundings

Abstract

The honeybee Apis mellifera is exposed to agricultural intensification, which leads to an improved reliance upon pesticide use and the reduction of floral diversity. In the present study, we assess the changes in the colony activity and the expression profile of genes involved in xenobiotic detoxification in larvae and adult honeybees from three apiaries located in agricultural environments that differ in their proportion of the crop/wild flora. We evaluated these variables before and after the administration of a mixture of three herbicides during the summer season. The expression of several cytochrome P450 monooxygenases decreased significantly in larvae after post-emergence weed control and showed significant differences between apiaries in the case of honeybee workers. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that colonies located in the plot near to a wetland area exhibited a different relative gene expression profile after herbicide application compared with the other plots. Moreover, we found significant positive correlations between pollen collection and the pesticide detoxification genes that discriminated between plots in the PCA. Our results suggest that nutrition may modify herbicide impact on honeybees and that larvae are more harmed than adults in agroecosystems, a factor that will alter the colonies’ population growth at the end of the blooming period.

Protecting pollinators and our food supply: understanding and managing threats to pollinator health

“…However, even when larvae are asymptomatic, differences in gene expression are still observed (Vázquez Latorre-Estivalis et al 2020a, 2020b. Follow-up experiments in agricultural settings showed that honey bee larvae are more vulnerable than adult workers to glyphosate (Macri et al 2021). The data summarized demonstrate that glyphosate exposure poses a significant threat to honey bees and their pollination services.…”

Soil macrofauna diversity and weed dynamics in response to different methods of weed control in smallholder rubber farming

“…resistance to glyphosate at the oil palm plantation (Pasaribu et al 2017). Herbicide application has also affected non-target species such as earthworms (Kalkhoran et al 2022), snails (Fadhlaoui and Lavoie 2021), and the colonies' nutritional dan health status of honey bees (Macri et al 2021).…”

Respon Pertumbuhan Dan Hasil Kentang Var. Cingkariang Dan Populasi Gulma Terhadap Isolat Rizobakteri Indigen

“…Aplikasi herbisida dapat menekan pengaruh negatif gulma pada tanaman kentang (Barbaś et al 2020;Jabran et al 2023;Kalkhoran et al 2021). Akan tetapi penggunaan herbisida terus menerus dan dalam jangka waktu yang panjang dapat menyebabkan timbulnya resistensi gulma terhadap herbisida (Kurniadie et al 2021;Piasecki et al 2020;Rahmadi, 2021;Vulchi et al 2022), gangguan kesehatan lingkungan (He et al 2019;Hong et al 2022;Kwonpongsagoon et al 2021), bahkan dapat membahayakan organisme non target seperti koloni lebah (Macri et al 2021) dan organisme laut (Matozzo et al 2020;Sylwestrzak et al, 2021).…”