Examining the effects of multistage pesticide exposure on bumblebee queen survival and reproduction

Bees are key pollinators, and thus declines in their populations around the world may lead to negative consequences for both the environment and agricultural systems. While these declines are caused by multiple factors, the use of pesticides in agricultural systems has been identified as a key potential driver. Most bee species have an annual life cycle, with the potential for pesticide exposure throughout their life span. However, most studies have looked at either single or continuous exposure within a season. Bumblebees, like most annual species, have an overwintering stage - in their case, the queen. Such stages could be exposed to pesticides both before and after physiologically stressful periods such as hibernation and nest foundation, leading to the potential for increased health impact. However, studies of such multiple exposures are lacking. Here we used a novel exposure regime, exposing bumblebee queens to the pesticide sulfoxaflor both prior to and after hibernation..., , , # Examining the effects of multistage pesticide exposure on bumblebee queen survival and reproduction

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.280gb5mw0](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.280gb5mw0)
This study is an ecotoxicology study of *Bombus terrestris* queens and the pesticide sulfoxaflor. Queens were followed from mating through hibernation then a 8 week colony founding period to assess survival and reproduction.

## Description of the data and file structure

The first sheet of data includes a metadata sheet describing the abbreviations used and the structure of the data.,