Impact of Systemic Pesticides on Non-Apis and Wild Bee Populations: A Review
P. Wankitlang Shangpliang
Department of Zoology, St. Edmund’s College, Shillong 793003, Meghalaya, India.
Eugene Lyngkhoi *
Department of Zoology, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793022, Meghalaya, India.
Duwaki Rangad
Department of Zoology, St. Edmund’s College, Shillong 793003, Meghalaya, India.
Graham Bakynson Ranee
Sankardev College, Shillong 793004, Meghalaya, India.
Annu Kumari
Department of Zoology, The Assam Royal Global University, Guwahati 781035, Assam, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The widespread use of systemic pesticides such as neonicotinoids and phenylpyrazoles poses a serious threat to wild and non-Apis bee populations. Unlike managed honeybees, wild bees, including bumble bees (Bombus spp.), solitary bees (Osmia spp.), and stingless bees (Meliponini spp.) have diverse foraging behaviors, nesting habits, and life cycles, which increase their vulnerability to pesticide exposure. These chemicals, absorbed by plants and distributed into pollen, nectar, and guttation fluids, expose bees through several routes, causing both lethal and sublethal effects. Sublethal exposure can impair learning, memory, navigation, and brood development, ultimately reducing reproductive success and population stability. This review explores the systemic pesticides, their mechanisms of action, and their ecological impact on non-Apis bees, which are key pollinators vital for natural ecosystems and agriculture. It emphasizes the urgent need for stricter regulations, broader implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), habitat restoration, and long-term research on pesticide persistence and combined stressors, while promoting safer, pollinator-friendly pest control alternatives.
Keywords: Bombus, foraging impairment, Osmia, systemic insecticides, wild pollinators