Sublethal effects of the organosilicone surfactant Silwet L-77 and its interactions with acetamiprid and sulfoxaflor on honeybee (Apis mellifera) gustatory responsiveness and olfactory learning
- 1University of Regensburg
Abstract
Pesticides remain indispensable for global food security, yet their use must be reconciled with the preservation of biodiversity. Despite advances in developing "safer" pesticides, their sublethal effects and synergistic potential with co-formulants in tank-mixtures, including "inert" spray adjuvants, often remain poorly understood in beneficial insects like bees. In this study, we assessed the effects of acute oral exposure to both single compounds and adjuvant-insecticide mixtures on gustatory responsiveness, associative olfactory learning, and 90-minute short-term memory retention in honeybee foragers (Apis mellifera L.). Specifically, individual foragers were exposed to either single compounds (0.1%, 0.5%, 1% or 2.5% SilwetTM L-77; 6, 30 or 150 ng acetamiprid; 3, 9 or 27 ng sulfoxaflor), adjuvant-insecticide mixtures (0.5% or 1% SilwetTM L-77 combined with 6 or 30 ng acetamiprid, or 3 or 9 ng sulfoxaflor), a positive control (6 ng imidacloprid), or negative controls (0%, 0.1%, and 1% acetone). While we found no significant interaction effects for these adjuvant-insecticide mixtures, single-compound exposure to the highest doses of 2.5% SilwetTM L-77 and 27 ng sulfoxaflor significantly reduced gustatory responsiveness. Furthermore, all three agrochemicals alone weakly affected associative learning without impacting short-term memory retention. Although adjuvant-insecticide mixtures did not significantly impair learning ability, these adjuvants may impact sensory perception. Moving beyond mortality-based assessments and including behavioural assay to test sensory perception and learning ability is essential for gaining a more holistic understanding of pollinator health.
Related
- Serum concentration of Surfactant protein D at diagnosis is associated with malnutrition in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- Surfactant Compatibility Screening Improves Formulation Performance of Metarhizium anisopliae for Control of the Tomato Leafminer Phthorimaea absoluta
- Hormone oscillations preserve cellular responsiveness to future physiological demands
- Conditional deletion of Abca3 in alveolar type II cells alters surfactant homeostasis in newborn and adult mice
- Distinct metabolic states of yeast and pseudohyphae differentially prime innate immune responsiveness
BibTeX
@misc{achatz2026sublethal,
title = {{Sublethal effects of the organosilicone surfactant Silwet L-77 and its interactions with acetamiprid and sulfoxaflor on honeybee (Apis mellifera) gustatory responsiveness and olfactory learning}},
author = {M. Achatz and N. Benda and M. M. Mair and J. Osterman and C. Kurze},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.64898/2026.06.28.735033},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.28.735033v2},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Sublethal effects of the organosilicone surfactant Silwet L-77 and its interactions with acetamiprid and sulfoxaflor on honeybee (Apis mellifera) gustatory responsiveness and olfactory learning
AU - M. Achatz
AU - N. Benda
AU - M. M. Mair
AU - J. Osterman
AU - C. Kurze
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/28
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.06.28.735033
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.28.735033v2
AB - Pesticides remain indispensable for global food security, yet their use must be reconciled with the preservation of biodiversity. Despite advances in developing "safer" pesticides, their sublethal effects and synergistic potential with co-formulants in tank-mixtures, including "inert" spray adjuvants, often remain poorly understood in beneficial insects like bees. In this study, we assessed the effects of acute oral exposure to both single compounds and adjuvant-insecticide mixtures on gustatory responsiveness, associative olfactory learning, and 90-minute short-term memory retention in honeybee foragers (Apis mellifera L.). Specifically, individual foragers were exposed to either single compounds (0.1%, 0.5%, 1% or 2.5% SilwetTM L-77; 6, 30 or 150 ng acetamiprid; 3, 9 or 27 ng sulfoxaflor), adjuvant-insecticide mixtures (0.5% or 1% SilwetTM L-77 combined with 6 or 30 ng acetamiprid, or 3 or 9 ng sulfoxaflor), a positive control (6 ng imidacloprid), or negative controls (0%, 0.1%, and 1% acetone). While we found no significant interaction effects for these adjuvant-insecticide mixtures, single-compound exposure to the highest doses of 2.5% SilwetTM L-77 and 27 ng sulfoxaflor significantly reduced gustatory responsiveness. Furthermore, all three agrochemicals alone weakly affected associative learning without impacting short-term memory retention. Although adjuvant-insecticide mixtures did not significantly impair learning ability, these adjuvants may impact sensory perception. Moving beyond mortality-based assessments and including behavioural assay to test sensory perception and learning ability is essential for gaining a more holistic understanding of pollinator health.
ER -