Effects of Acetamiprid on Brood Development in Bumblebees, Bombus terrestris

It is known that pesticides used in agriculture affect the decline of wild and managed bee populations in recent years. acetamiprid active ingredients are used intensively against pests in the greenhouse. however, these products adversely affect not only target pests, but also affect the beneficial insects such as bombus terrestris used as a pollination agent in greenhouses. this study was carried out to determine the effect of acetamiprid on the critical traits that directly related to the pollination performance of the colony such as brood activities, production of adult bees, increase in colony population, and colony life by using microcolony method in b. terrestris. micro colonies were fed with sugar syrups containing the recommended dose of acetamiprid (30 grams/100 liters of water) in different proportions (0-control, 1/1000, 1/100, 1/10, and 1/1) during six weeks. results showed that acetamiprid has significant effects on worker death, egg-laying performance, duration of egg and larval period, number of emerged bees, and the weight of individuals in b. terrestris.