Toxicity of λ-cyhalothrin and fenpyroximate on Nannotrigona testaceicornis - dataset.
Ferreira NGC, Vieira JSR, Santos JAD, Caldas MJM, Costa MAPC
Pollinators
Every squash, tomato, or berry in your garden depends on bees you've probably never noticed—stingless bees that nest quietly in hollow stems and soil, and die silently when sprayed with products sold at every garden center.
Scientists exposed a small stingless bee native to South America to two pesticides commonly used on crops—one that kills insects and one that kills mites—then carefully tracked how much the bees ate, how long they lived, and how strangely they started behaving. They packaged all those measurements into a public dataset so that other researchers, regulators, and policymakers can figure out how dangerous these chemicals really are to wild bees. The goal is to move beyond just asking 'does it kill bees?' and start asking 'how much does it change the way bees act before they die?'
Key Findings
Both λ-cyhalothrin (insecticide) and fenpyroximate (acaricide) showed measurable toxicity to the stingless bee Nannotrigona testaceicornis, affecting survival rates.
Behavioral disruption was quantified using a Bee Behavioural Stress Index (BSI), providing a novel metric beyond simple mortality for assessing pesticide harm.
Ingestion rates were tracked alongside weight changes, offering dose-response data usable for ecological risk quotient calculations under real-world exposure conditions.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers tested two common agricultural pesticides—a pyrethroid insecticide and an acaricide—on a native stingless bee species, measuring survival, behavior, and stress responses. The resulting dataset gives scientists and regulators hard numbers to evaluate how these chemicals threaten wild pollinators beyond the honeybee.
Abstract Preview
The use of pesticides in agriculture boosts food production yields. However, pesticides are directly linked to declining pollinator populations, consequently impacting crop productivity. Assessing ...
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