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Common crop chemical leaves bees susceptible to deadly viruses
http://news.psu.edu/story/445420/2017/01/16/research/common-crop-chemical-leaves-bees-susceptible-deadly-viruses[font face=Serif][font size=5]Common crop chemical leaves bees susceptible to deadly viruses[/font]
By Sara LaJeunesse
January 16, 2017
[font size=3]UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A chemical that is thought to be safe and is, therefore, widely used on crops — such as almonds, wine grapes and tree fruits — to boost the performance of pesticides, makes honey bee larvae significantly more susceptible to a deadly virus, according to researchers at Penn State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"In the lab, we found that the commonly used organosilicone adjuvant, Sylgard 309, negatively impacts the health of honey bee larvae by increasing their susceptibility to a common bee pathogen, the Black Queen Cell Virus," said Julia Fine, graduate student in entomology, Penn State. "These results mirror the symptoms observed in hives following almond pollination, when bees are exposed to organosilicone adjuvant residues in pollen, and viral pathogen prevalence is known to increase. In recent years, beekeepers have reported missing, dead and dying brood in their hives following almond pollination, and exposure to agrochemicals, like adjuvants, applied during bloom, has been suggested as a cause."
…
"Organosilicone adjuvants are the most potent adjuvants available to growers," he said. "Based on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation data for agrochemical applications to almonds, there has been increasing use of organosilicone adjuvants during crop blooming periods, when two-thirds of the U.S. honey bee colonies are present."
…
"We found that bees exposed to the organosilicone adjuvant had higher levels of Black Queen Cell Virus," said Fine. "Not only that, when they were exposed to the virus and the organosilicone adjuvant simultaneously, the effect on their mortality was synergistic rather than additive, meaning that the mortality was higher from the simultaneous application of adjuvant and virus than from exposure to either the organosilicone adjuvant or the viral pathogen alone, even if those two mortalities were added together," said Fine. "This suggests that the adjuvant is enhancing the damaging effects of the virus."
…[/font][/font]
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep40499
By Sara LaJeunesse
January 16, 2017
[font size=3]UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A chemical that is thought to be safe and is, therefore, widely used on crops — such as almonds, wine grapes and tree fruits — to boost the performance of pesticides, makes honey bee larvae significantly more susceptible to a deadly virus, according to researchers at Penn State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"In the lab, we found that the commonly used organosilicone adjuvant, Sylgard 309, negatively impacts the health of honey bee larvae by increasing their susceptibility to a common bee pathogen, the Black Queen Cell Virus," said Julia Fine, graduate student in entomology, Penn State. "These results mirror the symptoms observed in hives following almond pollination, when bees are exposed to organosilicone adjuvant residues in pollen, and viral pathogen prevalence is known to increase. In recent years, beekeepers have reported missing, dead and dying brood in their hives following almond pollination, and exposure to agrochemicals, like adjuvants, applied during bloom, has been suggested as a cause."
…
"Organosilicone adjuvants are the most potent adjuvants available to growers," he said. "Based on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation data for agrochemical applications to almonds, there has been increasing use of organosilicone adjuvants during crop blooming periods, when two-thirds of the U.S. honey bee colonies are present."
…
"We found that bees exposed to the organosilicone adjuvant had higher levels of Black Queen Cell Virus," said Fine. "Not only that, when they were exposed to the virus and the organosilicone adjuvant simultaneously, the effect on their mortality was synergistic rather than additive, meaning that the mortality was higher from the simultaneous application of adjuvant and virus than from exposure to either the organosilicone adjuvant or the viral pathogen alone, even if those two mortalities were added together," said Fine. "This suggests that the adjuvant is enhancing the damaging effects of the virus."
…[/font][/font]
