http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13592-013-0199-4
Abstract
Most studies that have shown negative sublethal effects of the pesticide
imidacloprid on honeybees concern behavioral effects; only a few concern
physiological effects. Therefore, we investigated sublethal effects of
imidacloprid on the development of the hypopharyngeal glands (HPGs) and
respiratory rhythm in honeybees fed under laboratory conditions. We
introduced newly emerged honeybees into wooden mesh-sided cages and
provided sugar solution and pollen pastry ad libitum. Imidacloprid was
administered in the food: 2 ėg/kg in the sugar solution and 3 ėg/kg in the
pollen pastry. The acini, the lobes of the HPGs of imidacloprid-treated
honeybees, were 14.5 % smaller in diameter in 9-day-old honeybees and
16.3 % smaller in 14-day-old honeybees than in the same-aged untreated
honeybees; the difference was significant for both age groups. Imidacloprid
also significantly affected the bursting pattern of abdominal ventilation
movements (AVM) by causing a 59.4 % increase in the inter-burst interval
and a 56.99 % decrease in the mean duration of AVM bursts. At the same
time, the quantity of food consumed (sugar solution and pollen pastry) per
honeybee per day was the same for both treated and untreated honeybees.
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