University researchers say pesticides keep bees from sleeping
Shane McGlaun - Jan 22, 2021, 5:59am CST
Scientists from the University of Bristol have conducted research that shows common pesticides can prevent bees and flies from getting a good night’s sleep. They say that just like humans, many insects need sleep to function properly. However, their sleep is impacted if they have been exposed to neonicotinoid insecticides, a common insecticide used worldwide.
Researchers have shown those insecticides impact the amount of sleep taken by both bumblebees and fruit flies, which could help understand why important insect pollinators are disappearing in the wild. Researcher Dr. Kiah Tasman said neonicotinoids the team tested had a significant impact on the amount of sleep the insects got. If the insect was exposed to a smaller amount of the insecticide, such as it might encounter on a farm, it slept less, and its daily rhythms were out of sync with the usual 24-hou
Researchers from Bristol explored the impact of insecticides on flies and bees
Fruit flues and bees have similar structures in the brain, the team explained
They used the same concentrations of neonicotinoids employed by agriculture
The team found that the pesticide threw off the insect s biological clocks
This led to the bees being more likely to forage at night, when such is harder
Sleepy bees also communicate less effectively and find it harder to locate food
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Just like us, many insects need a decent night s sleep to function properly, but this might not be possible if they have been exposed to neonicotinoid insecticides, the most common form of insecticide used worldwide, suggests research by academics at the University of Bristol.
Two studies by scientists at Bristol s Schools of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience and Biological Sciences have shown these insecticides affect the amount of sleep taken by both bumblebees and fruit flies, which may help us understand why insect pollinators are vanishing from the wild.
Dr Kiah Tasman, Teaching Associate in the School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience and lead author of the studies, said: The neonicotinoids we tested had a big effect on the amount of sleep taken by both flies and bees. If an insect was exposed to a similar amount as it might experience on a farm where the pesticide had been applied, it slept less, and its daily behavioural rhythms were knocked o