Bad News Bees

Abstract

As the Environmental Protection Agency faces a lawsuit over its policy to allow use of a pesticide class implicated in global honeybee die-offs, new evidence that the compounds may damage the brains of bees could convince the agency to reconsider. Scientists are investigating many possible causes of honeybee deaths. Neonicotinoid pesticides are under particular scrutiny, however. A growing body of field research studies links these compounds to behavior changes that affect bee survival, including impaired memory and navigation. Until now, neonicotinoids’ effects on bees’ brains have been unknown. A new report finds that neonicotinoids and another pesticide class, the organophosphates, inactivate brain cells that help bees learn (Nat. Comm., DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2648). Researchers already knew these pesticide classes target acetylcholine signaling to kill bugs. But honeybees are not killed right away. To find out whether the compounds’ modes of action translate to effects on bee brain function, a team led by ...