New work co-authored by Jeff Pettis


To determine the effect of imidacloprid and coumaphos on sperm viability, four different concentrations of each chemical were applied to honey bee queens. Our results indicate that 1/30 of the LD50 by contact of imidacloprid (0.02 ppm) can reduce sperm viability in queens by 50%. Our results also showed that the viability of sperm was a downward trend (about 30 %) by coumaphos at 1/30th of the LD50 by contact (100 ppm). Our results about the metabolic detoxification of pesticides in queens and workers showed that the expression of CYP306A1, CYP4G11 and CYP6AS14 in both queens and workers was affected by imidacloprid and coumaphos at low concentrations.

Our results showed that the organophosphate coumaphos and the neonicotinoid
imidacloprid had negative impacts on vitellogenin and hexamerin 70b in honey bee queens.
Therefore, these two pesticides may cause a reduction in lifespan, reduced reproductive
capability and increased oxidative stress in honey bee queens. These developmentally- involved
genes did not show a change in workers after pesticide exposure.

Sperm viability and gene expression in honey bee queens (Apis mellifera) following
exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid and the organophosphate acaricide coumaphos.
We assessed the effect of two different pesticide classes, organophosphate and neonicotinoid on DWV replication.
Although no negative effects on NF-ƘB activation was observed in this study, we found that
DWV levels increased after imidacloprid exposure.

Veeranan Chaimanee1, Jay D. Evans2, Yanping Chen2, Caitlin Jackson2 and Jeffery S. Pettis2

1 Department of Biotechnology, Maejo University Phrae Campus, Rong Kwang, Phrae, Thailand
2 Bee Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, Maryland, United States of America
Journal of Insect Physiology (2016), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2016.03.004

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