Data from: Bumblebees prefer sulfoxaflor contaminated food and show caste-specific differences in sulfoxaflor sensitivity
Data files
Jan 15, 2025 version files 19.36 KB
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Data_for_DRYAD_8.29.24.xlsx
17.96 KB
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README.md
1.40 KB
Abstract
More than 30% of human food crop yield requires animal pollination. In addition, successful crop production depends on agrochemicals to control pests. However, agrochemicals can have negative consequences on beneficial insect pollinators, such as bees. We investigated the effects of an emerging class of pesticides, sulfoximines, on the common eastern bumblebee, Bombus impatiens. We performed a series of 96-hour toxicity tests on microcolonies of laboratory-reared B. impatiens. Our data showed that sulfoxaflor is significantly less toxic to B. impatiens than historically used neonicotinoid pesticides, such as thiamethoxam. Further, for the first time, we found significant differences among caste sensitivity to sulfoxaflor; workers and drones were more sensitive than queens. These findings are notable because they reveal both caste and sex-specific differences in bumblebee sensitivity to pesticides. Interestingly, we found no evidence that bumblebees avoid sulfoxaflor-contaminated sugar syrup. To the contrary, B. impatiens workers had an apparent preference for sulfoxaflor-contaminated sugar syrup over sugar syrup alone. Overall, our investigation provides novel information on an important pesticide and may help inform regulatory decisions regarding pesticide use.
README: Bumblebees prefer sulfoxaflor contaminated food and show caste-specific differences in sulfoxaflor sensitivity
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mw6m9064f
Description of the data and file structure
The data is found in an excel document with five tabs: (1) SFX Acute Toxicity Workers, (2) SFX Acute Toxicity Queens, (3) SFX Acute Toxicity Drones, (4) THX Acute Toxicity Workers, and (5) SFX Feeding Choice.
The first four tabs contain survivorship data for the 96-hour acute toxicity tests for either sulfoxaflor or thiamethoxam performed on the three castes (queens, workers, and drones) of Bombus impatiens bumblebees. These four tabs include the following columns:
- Sulfoxaflor or Thiamethoxam (mg/L): The concentration of SFX or THX in the nectar provided to the bees
- Cage: Replicate number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8)
- Number of Bees: number of bees in each cage at the beginning of the experiment
- Number of Survivors: number of surviving bees from each cage after 96-hours
The last tab contains data on the SFX feeding choice experiment. This tab contains three columns:
- Cage: Replicate number (1-18)
- % Consumed Control Nectar: the % of the total weight of control nectar consumed over a 96 hour period per bee
- % Consumed SFX Nectar: the % of the total weight of 0.4 mg/L SFX nectar consumed over a 96 hour period per bee