Plant guttation water as a potential route for pesticide exposure in honey bees: a review of recent literature

Abstract

Because honey bees periodically collect water, guttation water from treated crops has been suggested as a potential exposure route to systemic pesticides. We reviewed studies that were published in the scientific literature since a previous review of the topic. We identified several studies that reported residue levels of pesticides in guttation water. However, few studies addressed guttation water as a potential exposure route to honey bees. In these studies, no significant effects on honey bee colony health or overwintering survival were observed when colonies were located within fields of treated crops during guttation periods. The previous and current review suggests that exposure to pesticides via guttation water alone is unlikely to negatively affect honey bee colonies. A better understanding of water foraging by honey bees would be needed to address whether guttation water could represent a relevant exposure route of honey bees to systemic pesticides. guttation / honey bees / pesticide risk assessment / neonicotinoids

Austrian COLOSS Survey of Honey Bee Colony Winter Losses 2018/19 and Analysis of Hive Management Practices

“…Still, some cases of colonies collecting large amounts of maize pollen have been documented in Austria [55]. A possible explanation for the higher loss rate could be pesticide contaminated pollen, residues in guttation water, or other indirect ways of getting into contact with agriculture chemicals used in maize fields [18,54,56]. Other reasons for our result include poor landscape for foraging with a lot of maize fields nearby, which presumably increases honey bees collecting poor-quality maize pollen or guttation water as well as the lack of nutritive pollen [18,57].…”

Plant guttation provides nutrient-rich food for insects

“…The accumulation of insecticides in guttation drops is another negative consequence of using systemic insecticides because pollinators and insect predators that feed on it might die (e.g. [34,35,37,57]). This route of insecticide exposure should be considered by the environmental agencies, especially in crops and seasons where nectar is scarce because many insects may search for guttation drops on which to feed.…”

“…Previous studies have considered guttation as a water source (referred to as 'guttation water') for insects and have, thus, ignored its potential beneficial effects as a source of nutrients. Furthermore, some of these studies focused on the potential negative effects of guttation on pollinators and natural enemies since it may be a potential route for pesticide exposure [34][35][36][37][38]. However, guttation is more than water.…”

Determinação De Multirresíduos De Agrotóxicos Em Méis Produzidos Na Região Do Triângulo Mineiro Por Uhplc-MS/MS

“…3,7,8 Em especial, o desaparecimento de abelhas polinizadoras devido ao uso intenso de agrotóxicos tem despertado uma enorme preocupação mundial. 3,[9][10][11] As abelhas, que desempenham um papel fundamental de polinização, ao visitar culturas que fazem uso de agrotóxicos, retém no corpo ou no sistema respiratório os resíduos desses agentes químicos, causando sua morte pré-matura e contaminando os produtos apícolas. 12 Logo, o mel, como principal produto apícola, pode ser usado como um indicador para avaliação do impacto ambiental causado por agrotóxicos em uma determinada região agricultável, inclusive sobre as colmeias de abelhas.…”