Comparison of long-term changes in size and longevity of bee colonies in mid-west Japan and Maui with and without exposure to pesticide, cold winters, and mites

Four long-term field experiments in mid-west Japan (Shika) made it clear that extinction of colonies exposed to neonicotinoid was much higher than for colonies exposed to organophosphates. The incidence of hive death for of organophosphate-exposed and control (pesticide-free) colonies was similar. We conducted a field experiment in Maui for 271 days using the same pesticides (dinotefuran: 0.2 ppm, clothianidin: 0.08 ppm, fenitrothion: 1 ppm) as used in Shika with the honeybee, Apis mellifera, colonies without mites. Numbers of adult bees, capped brood, mites and other hive parameters were accurately counted on photographs of combs and on the inside of the hives. All six neonicotinoid (dinotefuran & clothianidin)-exposed colonies failed during the experiment. One of three organophosphate (fenitrothion)-exposed colonies and one of the three control colonies also failed. The findings from Maui, where colonies displayed no mites, provides evidence from Shika, with mites, that neonicotinoids are more hazardous to honeybee colonies than organophosphates. The apparent longevity of honeybee colonies on Maui was estimated by numbers of adult bees and capped brood using a mathematical model previously proposed. Seasonal changes in longevity on Maui differ greatly from changes at Shika, the latter showing distinct seasonal variation. Longevity on Maui remains nearly constant throughout the year with wide variations. At Shika, it increases drastically in winter, by six- to ten fold more than the other seasons. Differences seem to depend on the existence of cold winters and the length of flowering seasons. In a perpetually hospitable environment, small changes in conditions can be sensitively reflected in apparent longevity. Examining wide variations in apparent longevity that are seemingly incoherent, we recognized several differences in apparent longevity between neonicotinoid-exposed and organophosphate-exposed colonies: The colony that failed in after organophosphate-exposure colony group exhibited the longest apparent longevity and the fewest number of newly capped brood, as also was the case in control colonies. Extended longevity when few brood are newly produced is reasonable to maintain the colony from a physiological point of view. Extension of apparent longevity is not seen in neonicotinoid-exposed colonies when the number of newly capped brood is fewer. This finding suggests that neonicotinoid pesticides may inhibit normal apian physiology.