Bees rely upon a functional immune system to defend themselves against pathogens. Certain pesticides are known to modulate immunity, as it has been shown for organophosphorous compounds in rodents and aquatic organisms.

Comparable effects are hypothesized to occur in bees, thus making them more vulnerable to agents of diseases and, perhaps, cause massive colony die-offs. To test this hypothesis, we exposed bees in hoarding cages to three commonly used agrochemicals: the insecticidal neonicotinoid Thiacloprid, the fungicide Boscalid, and the herbicide Terbuthylazin.

The level of gene expression did not differ significantly between bees subjected to pesticides and control bees without pesticides. None of the pesticides tested showed immuno-modulatory effects.

An immunotoxicological study on honey bees exposed to common pesticides.
J. Pinkas, R. Siede, M. Meixner, R. Büchler
Apidologie 41 (2010) 676–694                 
             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm