The study on the dramatic effects of glyphosate on the development of honey bees

    The study on the dramatic effects of glyphosate on the development of honey bees

    Exposure of bee larvae results in slower development and lower growth of insects, making pollinators more vulnerable

    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    Pesticides are the bitter enemies of bees and pollinating insects, but what exactly are the effects of exposing glyphosate, one of the most widely used herbicides, to them? 





    Le honey bees they are the main pollinators of many crops, where they are cobstructed to undergo the attack of numerous chemical products used in agriculture.

    Bees, for example, find themselves having to deal with the glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world. After feeding on the nectar of the flowers, the bees bring the glyphosate inside the hive and, when the larvae are born, they feed on honey contaminated with the herbicide.

    In the literature there are not many studies that have addressed the impact of phytosanitary products on the larvae of honey bees so some agronomists have tried to fill this void, analyzing theeffect of glyphosate on larvae development of this pollinating insect.

    Researchers bred the bee in laboratory, by feeding insects with food containing traces of glyphosate, as would occur in nature. They then observed the development of the larvae, discovering a 40% slowdown in the growth of newborns and a 30% lower weight in the adult specimens exposed to glyphosate.

    Until recently it was believed that glyphosate only affects plants, while today these results show that although the doses of glyphosate used were not lethal, exposure to the herbicide has a negative impact on bee survival in the long term.

    Growing more slowly, in fact, some bees may not reach adulthood, or achieve it with an excessively low weight. This implies smaller reserves and a depleted immune system, which they reduce the chances of survival for the hive in conditions of scarcity of resources.

    The study also showed that bees are more affected by the negative impact of glyphosate if they occur stressful events before exposure to the herbicide, therefore in nature honey bees could suffer worse consequences, because the situation they have to face in a natural environment is much more complex than in a laboratory.



    For example, due to the development of crops, more and more plant protection products are used and bees are exposed to numerous chemicals in addition to glyphosate. This creates a source of stress for pollinating insects, to which is added the decrease of flowers caused by the use of herbicides.

    Furthermore, the bees exposed to glyphosate they struggle to perceive the sweetness of the nectar and to understand the relationship between the scent of a flower and the reward, making the search for food even more difficult, worsening the effects of glyphosate, and causing bees even more vulnerable.

    All this is very serious because without the invaluable help of pollinating insects we could, among other things, see harvests decrease dramatically, with important consequences for the entire population.



    Read also:

    • Glyphosate kills bees: it alters the intestines and exposes them to infections
    • Glyphosate in honey: the French prosecutor opens an investigation after the beekeepers report
    • Stop pesticides! The tweet bombing to say enough to glyphosate and other harmful plant protection products

    Tatiana Maselli

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