Hives Under Attack- Pesticide Integration and Climate Change Effects on the Physiology and Genetics of Apis mellifera

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) survival and overall health are threatened by pesticide use and climate change. This review examines the damage these two threats inflict on honey bee population as well as how they interact, creating new, difficult problems to overcome. Pesticides such as imidacloprid and thiamethoxam integrate into bee hives at both the individual and colony level. In the nectar, honey, and wax, pesticides are present in every part of a hive. Pesticide integration damages larval development, immune system function, memory formation, thermoregulation, the honey bee genome, and honey bee lifespans, with these effects compounded across generations. The consequences of pesticide exposure are exacerbated by climate change, which changes flowering periods and bee bodies to become increasingly unfavorable to hive survival. Pesticide induced thermoregulatory dysfunction compounded with heatwaves and cold snaps can have devastating effects on the survival of a hive. Compounding evolutionary pressures from both pesticides and climate change, combined with reduced genetic diversity from dwindling bee populations put additional stress on the species. Future research involving hive wide longitudinal studies and radiolabeling of pesticides could help track pesticide distribution and identify the combined effects of pesticide exposure and climate change on a hive.