(ORDO NEWS) — The industriousness of bees is appreciated by man, but it seems that their reproduction is not so strong. But in vain – and that is why it is worth reconsidering the use of chemicals.
Traditionally, a bee colony consists of a main queen, hundreds of drones, and tens of thousands of worker bees.
An international team of researchers has come to the conclusion that the chemicals humans use to treat plants (pesticides) have a significant impact on the mating process of bees.
Due to pesticides, female bees see some males as “losers”, which, accordingly, leads to a decrease in the population. Previously, scientists have studied in detail the stages of reproduction in the species Osmia cornuta , horned mason bees.
Research has shown
Horned mason bees were exposed to a safe dose of the fungicide fenbuconazole, which is commonly used to protect plants from fungal diseases.
Females of the genus Osmia cornuta, when choosing a quality mating partner, evaluate special signals that come from males.
Studies have shown that chemicals have a negative effect on these very signals of males. This, in turn, results in them being rejected by females more often than other “pesticide-free” rivals.
“Chemic-exposed males physically vibrate their chest muscles less, which reduces the signal to the female. Also, the harmful effect affects the composition of the smell of males, which also endangers the insect population, ”the scientists note . They highlight the need to include mating experiments in chemical safety testing programs.
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