Temperature influences how badly pesticides affect bees’ behaviour, suggesting uncertain impacts under climate change, according to a new study.
Temperature influences how badly pesticides affect bees’ behaviour, suggesting uncertain impacts under climate change, according to a new study.
The findings indicate that future extreme temperature events under climate change could increase the impact of pesticides on bee populations and their pollination services.
Certain pesticides, particularly a class called neonicotinoids, are known to impact bees and other important insects, and are thought to be contributing to population declines. However, bees’ reported responses to this threat across the world often seem to vary, suggesting other interacting factors are at play.
Now, researchers from Imperial College London have shown that environmental temperature can influence the degree to which pesticides can alter a suite of bumblebee behaviours important for their survival and ability to pollinate crops. The study is published today in Global Change Biology.
Read more at Imperial College London
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