PESTICIDE EXPOSURE AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE IN WILD BEES AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR POLLINATOR POPULATION STABILITY
Keywords:
Bee reproduction, Pesticide exposure, Pollinator conservation, Population stability, Wild bees
Abstract
Wild bees are critical pollinators in both natural and agricultural systems but are now becoming more susceptible to pesticides and other factors that can impact reproductive success. This review discusses the effects of pesticide use on the reproductive output of wild bees and proposes some options for long-term stability of pollinator populations. There are signs that pesticides have the potential to influence female fecundity, queen survival, nest establishment, brood production, male reproductive behaviour, processes involved in fertilization and offspring development. These can occur via neuro physical disruption, oxidative stress, changes in energy metabolism, immune dysfunction, sub-optimal foraging efficiency and interaction with other environmental stressors. Reproductive impairment varies in magnitude among species, influenced by ecological traits, landscape structure, availability of floral resources, climate, exposure duration and mixtures of pesticides. Reproductive effects are especially significant as they can happen at the sublethal level of exposure and can be cumulative over reproductive cycles or generations. A decline in mating success, offspring production and recruitment can ultimately affect population growth, resilience, and persistence. There are important gaps in current evidence, particularly with respect to male reproductive endpoints, solitary bees, long-term field exposure, and multigenerational responses, all across wild bee taxa. Reproductive toxicology studies should be combined with population monitoring, habitat quality, and landscape level exposure assessment in future studies. Assessing pesticide risk for reproductive endpoints will further add to the conservation strategies to ensure resilient wild bee populations and stable pollination services.
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References
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2.Ambhure, K. (2023). Impacts of Pesticide Residues on Pollinator Diversity and Ecosystem Services. Available at SSRN 6383798.
3.Bie, M., Song, K., Dong, H., Zhao, W., Lin, H., Shi, D., & Liu, D. (2025). Advancing sustainable agriculture through bumblebee pollination: bibliometric insights and future directions. Sustainability, 17(5), 2177.
4.Brunet, J., & Fragoso, F. P. (2024). What are the main reasons for the worldwide decline in pollinator populations?. CABI Reviews, (2024).
5.Dolezal, A. G. (2022). Carryover insecticide exposure reduces bee reproduction across years. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(1), e2120128118.
6.Douglas, M. R., Baisley, P., Soba, S., Kammerer, M., Lonsdorf, E. V., & Grozinger, C. M. (2022). Putting pesticides on the map for pollinator research and conservation. Scientific Data, 9(1), 571.
7.Faisal, M., Saritha, K., Srikanth, T., & Soujanya, A. (2025). POLLINATOR MANAGEMENT AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION. INNOVATIONS IN MODERN HORTICULTURE, 254.
8.Gekière, A., Gérard, M., Potts, S. G., Michez, D., & Ghisbain, G. (2025). Underlying mechanisms shaping wild bee decline. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 145(4), blaf043.
9.Ghosh, S., & Hasan, M. N. (2025). Plant-Pollinator Interaction. In Pollinators: Life, Biology and Threats (pp. 63-73). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
10.Green, F. B., Peterson, E. M., Emert, A. D., Subbiah, S., & Smith, P. N. (2023). Bee pollinator mortality due to pesticide-laden particulate matter from beef cattle feedyards. Environmental Science & Technology, 57(40), 14839-14848.
11.Guzman, L. M., Elle, E., Morandin, L. A., Cobb, N. S., Chesshire, P. R., McCabe, L. M., ... & M’Gonigle, L. K. (2024). Impact of pesticide use on wild bee distributions across the United States. Nature Sustainability, 7(10), 1324-1334.
12.Hisamoto, S., Ikegami, M., Goka, K., & Sakamoto, Y. (2024). The impact of landscape structure on pesticide exposure to honey bees. Nature Communications, 15(1), 8999.
13.Huang, Y., Gao, Q., He, Q., Liu, Q., Liu, Y., Shi, Y., ... & Cao, H. (2025). Diamide insecticides impair honey bee queen reproduction and colony development. Science Bulletin, 71(4), 697-700.
14.Ige, O. E., Aliu, F. P., Omole, A. E., & Alabi, O. O. (2025). Ecotoxicological impacts of pesticide. In The interplay of pesticides and climate change: Environmental dynamics and challenges (pp. 231-252). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
15.Knapp, J. L., Bates, A., Jonsson, O., Klatt, B., Krausl, T., Sahlin, U., ... & Rundlöf, M. (2022). Pollinators, pests and yield—Multiple trade‐offs from insecticide use in a mass‐flowering crop. Journal of Applied Ecology, 59(9), 2419-2429.
16.Knapp, J. L., Nicholson, C. C., Jonsson, O., De Miranda, J. R., & Rundlöf, M. (2023). Ecological traits interact with landscape context to determine bees’ pesticide risk. Nature ecology & evolution, 7(4), 547-556.
17.Knauer, A., Naef, C., & Albrecht, M. (2024). Pesticide hazard, floral resource availability and natural enemies interactively drive the fitness of bee species depending on their crop fidelity. Science of the Total Environment, 922, 171058.
18.Li, J. (2024). Threats to honeybee populations: pathogens, pesticides, and environmental changes. Molecular Pathogens, 15.
19.Lima, M. A. P., Cutler, G. C., Mazzeo, G., & Hrncir, M. (2022). The decline of wild bees: Causes and consequences. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, 1027169.
20.López-Uribe, M. M., Almeida, E. A., & Alves, D. A. (2025). Adapting to change: bee pollinator signatures in anthropized environments. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 68, 101297.
21.Maqbool, F., Ali, M., Salman, M., Ghani, M. U., Hassan, A., Achakzai, W. M., ... & Humayun, M. (2025). Decline of honeybee populations and its consequences for wildlife and ecosystem stability. Planta Animalia, 4(5), 505-515.
22.Martínez-Álvarez, P. E., Toro-Zapata, H. D., & Salcedo-Echeverry, G. E. (2025). Population dynamics of a honeybee colony Apis mellifera under pesticide-induced environmental stress. Theoretical Ecology, 18(1), 27.
23.Morrison, M. A., Linguadoca, A., Šima, P., & Brown, M. J. (2025). Examining the effects of repeated pesticide exposure on bumblebee queen survival and reproduction. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 6(1), e70011.
24.Nicholson, C. C., Knapp, J., Kiljanek, T., Albrecht, M., Chauzat, M. P., Costa, C., ... & Rundlöf, M. (2024). Pesticide use negatively affects bumble bees across European landscapes. Nature, 628(8007), 355-358.
25.O'Reilly, A. D., & Stanley, D. A. (2023). Non‐neonicotinoid pesticides impact bumblebee activity and pollen provisioning. Journal of Applied Ecology, 60(8), 1673-1683.
26.Parreño, M. A., Alaux, C., Brunet, J. L., Buydens, L., Filipiak, M., Henry, M., ... & Leonhardt, S. D. (2022). Critical links between biodiversity and health in wild bee conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 37(4), 309-321.
27.Patil, P. (2024). Pollination ecology: Understanding plant-pollinator relationships. International Journal of Research in Agronomy.
28.Paudel, S., Bhandari, S., & Upadhaya, S. (2025). Agroforestry for pollinator support and food security: a review. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 9, 1703823.
29.Raza, M. F., & Li, W. (2025). Biogenic amines in honey bee cognition: Neurochemical pathways and stress impacts. Current opinion in insect science, 70, 101376.
30.Richardson, E., & Thompson, D. (2025). Adaptive beekeeping strategies to mitigate climate impacts on honey bees in Australia. GRJESTM, 1(1), 19-27.
31.Roy, T., Sorahia, D., Chatterjee, S., Pathak, M., Rajesh, T., Ningthoujam, K., & Patidar, R. K. (2025). Importance of hymenopteran pollinators in agriculture ecosystem: a review.
32.Rundlöf, M., Stuligross, C., Lindh, A., Malfi, R. L., Burns, K., Mola, J. M., ... & Williams, N. M. (2022). Flower plantings support wild bee reproduction and may also mitigate pesticide exposure effects. Journal of Applied Ecology, 59(8), 2117-2127.
33.Sadafale, G. V. R., Vishnupandi, M., Sami, A., Sudalaiyandi, Y., Subal, B. K., Ashish Kamal, P., & Shukla, A. (2025). Global decline of pollinators: Drivers, consequences and mitigation strategies. Journal of Biology and Nature, 17(2), 356-379.
34.Shangpliang, P. W., Lyngkhoi, E., Rangad, D., Ranee, G. B., & Kumari, A. (2025). Impact of Systemic Pesticides on Non-Apis and Wild Bee Populations: A Review. Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology, 28(10), 1675-1689.
35.Sinha, A., Das, R., Pramanik, K., & Layek, A. (2025). The Impact of Climate Change on Pollinator Populations: Trends, Challenges, and Conservation Strategies. Recent Advances in Agricultural Research: A Compendium, 100.
36.Sprayberry, J. D., Ashman, T. L., Crall, J., Hranitz, J., Jankauski, M., Lihoreau, M., ... & Westerman, E. L. (2025). Plant-pollinator interactions in the Anthropocene: why we need a systems approach. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 65(4), 991-1006.
37.Straub, F., Birkenbach, M., Leonhardt, S. D., Ruedenauer, F. A., Kuppler, J., Wilfert, L., & Ayasse, M. (2023). Land-use-associated stressors interact to reduce bumblebee health at the individual and colony level. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290(2008), 20231322.
38.Swathi, P., Nagarjuna, R. K., Gouthami, D., & Chandana, M. S. (2025). Threats to pollinators and agricultural systems. In Integrated Pest Management (pp. 107-117). CRC Press.
39.Ulrich, J., & Sargent, R. D. (2025). Habitat restorations in an urban landscape rapidly assemble diverse pollinator communities that persist. Ecology Letters, 28(1), e70037.
40.Xiu, L., & Green, R. (2025, June). Comparative Study of Pollination Efficiency in Native vs. Invasive Insects. In PHYTON-ANNALES REI BOTANICAE (Vol. 65, No. 1).
Published
2026-05-26
How to Cite
Robert T. Williams. (2026). PESTICIDE EXPOSURE AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE IN WILD BEES AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR POLLINATOR POPULATION STABILITY. IJRDO - JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 12(2), 48-68. https://doi.org/10.69980/bs.v12i2.6803
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