Consumption of pollen contaminated with field-realistic concentrations of fungicide cause sub-lethal effects in common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens [Hymenoptera]: [Apidae]) microcolonies

Bumble bees are declining across the globe. Causes of this decline have been attributed to a variety of stressors, including pesticides. Fungicides are a type of pesticide that have been understudied in the context of bumble bee health. As a result, fungicides are often applied to flowering plants without consideration of pollinator exposure. Recent work demonstrates that fungicides have sublethal effects in bumble bees, but little is known about how much fungicide it takes to cause these sublethal effects. To address this gap in the literature, we fed microcolonies of the common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) pollen contaminated with a range of fungicide concentrations. We chose these concentrations based on the range of fungicide concentrations in pollen and nectar that were reported in the literature. Results revealed that later-stage pupae and newly emerged males are potentially sensitive to fungicide exposure, showing smaller size and reduced fat reserves at intermediate lev..., To understand how fungicides affect bumble bee microcolony health and reproduction, we established five fungicide treatments, which varied by the concentration of Pristine® in their pollen diet. We selected experimental values of Pristine® of 0 ppb, 150 ppb, 1,500 ppb, 15,000 ppb and 150,000 ppb.We exposed bumble bees to fungicide by incorporating it into pollen balls, which we made in batches per treatment by mixing 90g of honey bee-collected pollen with 35ml of a 50/50 sucrose:water solution containing the appropriate concentration of fungicide. We made pollen balls for each treatment in separate batches, from a single supply of homogenized honey bee-collected pollen. Using callow worker bees from four purchased B. impatiens queen-right colonies (Plant Products USA, Westland, MI), we established microcolonies consisting of five individuals, supplied with a 50/50 sucrose:water solution, a 1 g (±0.5 g) fungicide-free pollen ball, and 1-2 g of wax material from their natal colony to stim..., , This README file was generated on 2024-05-02 by Emily Runnion.

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Dataset: Consumption of pollen contaminated with field-realistic concentrations of fungicide cause sub-lethal effects in common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens [Hymenoptera]: [Apidae]) microcolonies
2. Author Information
A. Principal Investigator Contact Information
Name: Emily Runnion
Institution: The Ohio State University
Address: Columbus, OH USA
Email: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

B. Associate or Co-investigator Contact Information
Name: Jamie Strange
Institution: The Ohio State university
Address: Columbus, OH USA
Name: Frances Sivakoff
Institution: The Ohio State university
Address: Columbus, OH USA
3. Date of data collection (single date, range, approximate date): 2022
4. Geographic location of data collection: Columbus, Ohio, USA
5. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: ...