Data from: Neonicotinoids and ectoparasitic mites synergistically impact honeybees

The Western honeybee, Apis mellifera, is the most important managed
pollinator globally and has recently experienced unsustainably high colony
losses. Synergistic interactions among stressors are believed to be
primarily responsible. However, despite clear evidence of strong effect on
honeybee longevity of widely-employed neonicotinoid insecticides and of
the ubiquitous ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor, no data exist to show
synergistic effects between these two stressors. Even though
neonicotinoids had no significant impact by themselves, we here show for
the first time a synergistic time-lag interaction between mites and
neonicotinoids that resulted in significantly reduced survival of
long-lived winter honeybees. Even though these mites are potent vectors of
viruses, the virus-insecticide interaction had no significant impact. The
data suggest a previously overlooked mechanism possibly explaining recent
unsustainably high losses of managed A. mellifera honeybee colonies in
many regions of the world. Future mitigation efforts should concentrate on
developing sustainable agro-ecosystem management schemes that incorporate
reduced use of neonicotinoids and sustainable solutions for V. destructor
mites.