Pollination, key to agricultural performance, supports 33% of food crops. However, in modern productive systems, pollinators face constant exposure to agrochemicals, threatening their health and the ecosystem balance.
A recent study conducted by researchers from FCEyN-UBA, FAUBA, INTA, and other institutes confirmed that, under real field conditions, pesticides generate genetic, sensory, and behavioral damage in honey bees, weakening the capacity of hives and affecting agricultural sustainability.
## Multiple Impacts: from Genome to Behavior
The team installed hives in three agricultural lots at the Estación Experimental San Claudio (FAUBA), west of Buenos Aires, where they evaluated bees before and after flowering and the use of agrochemicals.
The monitoring revealed the presence of chemical residues in collected pollen and foraging bees. The consequences were observed at multiple levels:
– Genetic alterations in genes linked to the brain, the immune system, and social life.
– Loss of sensory abilities, such as the association of scents with rewards.
– Reduction in communication within the hive and efficiency in collecting food.
– Weakening of the colony, with less quantity, quality, and nutritional diversity after flowering.
“The multiple exposure to agrochemicals weakens the hive holistically,” stated Ivana Macri, researcher at INTA and first author of the study published in the scientific journal One Earth.
## Glyphosate: a Silent Risk
According to the teacher and researcher Jorge Zavala (FAUBA-CONICET), glyphosate represents a special risk. “It does not repel bees, which facilitates their contact with the product and the transfer of contaminants to the hive,” he explained.
Researchers emphasize that the negative effects observed in the laboratory are repeated in the field, validating their severity.
## Implications for Production and Biodiversity
Damage in information transmission, disorientation of foragers, and cognitive deficits result in reduced pollination, compromising crop productivity in the long term.
Furthermore, the study exposed that pesticide stress affects the bees’ gut flora, essential for their nutrition and immunity. Understanding this mechanism will be the team’s next step.
The working group plans to delve into how pesticides influence bees according to their age and tasks within the hive, as well as analyze which development stages are more vulnerable.
## Protecting Bees is Protecting Agriculture
This pioneering study demonstrates that exposure to agrochemicals has deep and multiscale consequences on bees, pillars of pollination.
Promoting good agricultural practices, evaluating alternatives to intensive pesticide use, and raising awareness about its impact will be essential to ensure the health of pollinators and the sustainability of the agri-food system.
