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Diversification mitigates pesticide but not microplastic effects on bees without compromising rapeseed yield in China
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Researchers conducted a large-scale mesocosm study to test whether agricultural diversification could mitigate the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides and microplastics on solitary bees over multiple generations. They found that diversified floral resources successfully offset negative effects of neonicotinoids on bee reproduction, but microplastics showed no significant individual or synergistic toxicity at realistic environmental levels. The results support agricultural diversification as a practical strategy for protecting pollinators from pesticide pollution without compromising crop yields.
Abstract Humanity depends on agriculture for food, fiber and energy provisioning, but input-intensive agricultural production is impacting ecosystem services such as pollination. Pollution effects from neonicotinoid insecticides on pollinators receive much attention, but nothing is known on the synergistic effects with emerging plastic contaminants and the mitigation potential of agricultural diversification. Here, we conduct the first large-scale and full-factorial mesocosm study to understand two-generation effects of diversified floral resources (diversification treatment), neonicotinoid and microplastic pollution (pollution treatments) on Osmia cornifrons bees in 72 mesocosms. In our three-year experiment, we found that diversification can mitigate individual neonicotinoid effects. We did not find any individual or synergistic effects of microplastic on reproductive performance of solitary bees. None of our treatments affected rapeseed yield. Our results confirm the benefits of diversified flower resources to mitigate pesticide effects on bees in China and suggest that microplastics have no acute individual or interaction toxicity in semi-natural environment at realistic exposure levels. Diversified flower resources in Chinese agricultural landscapes to mitigate pesticide pollution effects on pollinators is an important policy argument for pollinator protection with downstream implications for food security.
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Pesticides but not microplastics affect pollination in rape seed production in China
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Researchers tested the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides and microplastics, separately and together, on pollination and bee activity in Chinese rapeseed fields. Pesticides significantly reduced bee foraging activity and pollination success, while microplastics alone showed no significant effect, suggesting that agricultural chemical pollution is the dominant driver of pollination service loss in this system.
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Researchers tested how microplastics combined with a pesticide (flupyradifurone) affected honeybees, bumblebees, and hoverflies. Pesticide alone caused most of the deaths, but in bumblebees, adding microplastics lowered the dose needed to be lethal. Effects varied by species, and a reliable toxic dose could not be determined for hoverflies.
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This synthesis examined the largely unstudied effects of nano/microplastic pollution on pollinators and biocontrol agents—organisms that underpin agricultural productivity—finding evidence of gene expression changes, organ damage, and behavioral modifications at the organismal level. At landscape scales, MPs may amplify synergistic effects with pathogens and alter floral resource distributions, with implications for food security that are only beginning to be quantified.
Nano/micro-plastics effects in agricultural landscapes: an overlooked threat to pollination, biological pest control, and food security
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This review synthesized evidence on nano/microplastic (NMP) effects on pollinators and biocontrol agents at organismal, farm, and landscape scales, finding that ingested NMP cause gene expression changes, organ damage, and behavioral modifications. The authors identify NMP-polluted 'NMP islands' as potential hotspots that may alter floral resource distributions and amplify synergistic threats with pathogens and antibiotics to agricultural ecosystem services.
Unravelling the microplastic menace: different polymers work in synergy to increase bee vulnerability
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Researchers studied the effects of polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) microplastics, both individually and combined, on honeybees. They found that the mixture of different microplastic polymers produced synergistic harmful effects that were worse than either polymer alone, including increased mortality and disrupted gut microbiota. The study highlights that real-world microplastic exposure, which typically involves mixtures of polymers, may pose greater risks to pollinators than single-polymer laboratory studies suggest.
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