Sublethal effects of the three most widely used neonicotinoid pesticides in Colombian agriculture on the biology of the pollinating bumblebee Bombus pauloensis (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Pollination is a fundamental component for achieving global food security. Paradoxically, the use of agrochemicals used to control crop pests has side effects on non-target organisms, including pollinators. Neonicotinoids are highly toxic neurotoxins widely used globally. These molecules can be absorbed and translocated to different plant tissues, including pollen and nectar, persisting for a long time. These characteristics make neonicotinoids a risk factor for pollinators. In addition to lethal effects, pesticides can generate sublethal effects, which are less obvious but have implications at the population or ecological level, affecting the pollination capacities of bees, and have therefore been the focus of study in the last decade. The sublethal effects of pesticides, and neonicotinoids in particular, have been extensively studied in honey bees Apis mellifera. However, these results cannot be extrapolated to other species given their biological characteristics. Bumblebees of the genus Bombus are recognized as efficient crop pollinators. However, evidence of sublethal effects of neonicotinoids has been found in temperate zone species. Little is known about these effects in Neotropical species. Bombus pauloensis is a Neotropical species widely distributed in South America and is considered a key pollinator of many important crops. However, the sublethal effects of pesticides on this species are unknown. Considering the above, this project seeks to establish the sublethal effects of the three most used neonicotinoids in Colombian agriculture in three dimensions of B. pauloensis biology: colony development, worker brain development, and the expression of genes associated with detoxification, brain development, and worker thermal tolerance.