ArticlePeerJ2014
A large-scale field study examining effects of exposure to clothianidin seed-treated canola on honey bee colony health, development, and overwintering success.
Article in PeerJ, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 132 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neonicotinoid Insecticides and Their Impacts on Bees: A Systematic Review of Research Approaches and Identification of Knowledge Gaps.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Honey bee immune response to trace concentrations of clothianidin goes beyond the macronutrients found in artificial diets.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Relative impacts of Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata:Varroidae) infestation and pesticide exposure on honey bee colony health and survival in a high-intensity corn and soybean producing region in northern Iowa.Journal of insect science (Online) · 2024Article
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- Implementing IPM in crop management simultaneously improves the health of managed bees and enhances the diversity of wild pollinator communities.Scientific reports · 2023Article
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- Combined transcriptome and metabolite profiling analyses provide insights into the chronic toxicity of carbaryl and acetamiprid to Apis mellifera larvae.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- A deeper understanding of system interactions can explain contradictory field results on pesticide impact on honey bees.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Bee Stressors from an Immunological Perspective and Strategies to Improve Bee Health.Veterinary sciences · 2022Review
- Effects of Thiamethoxam-Dressed Oilseed Rape Seeds andInsects · 2022Article
- Article
- Dietary Contamination with a Neonicotinoid (Clothianidin) Gradient Triggers Specific Dysbiosis Signatures of Microbiota Activity along the Honeybee (Microorganisms · 2021Article
- Supplying honey bees with waterers: a precautionary measure to reduce exposure to pesticides.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Article
- Honeybee colonies compensate for pesticide-induced effects on royal jelly composition and brood survival with increased brood production.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- A spatial model of honey bee colony collapse due to pesticide contamination of foraging bees.Journal of mathematical biology · 2020Article
- Chronic within-hive video recordings detect altered nursing behaviour and retarded larval development of neonicotinoid treated honey bees.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Pesticide-Virus Interactions in Honey Bees: Challenges and Opportunities for Understanding Drivers of Bee Declines.Viruses · 2020Review
- Article
- Reduction of variability for the assessment of side effects of toxicants on honeybees and understanding drivers for colony development.PloS one · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In summer 2012, we initiated a large-scale field experiment in southern Ontario, Canada, to determine whether exposure to clothianidin seed-treated canola (oil seed rape) has any adverse impacts on honey bees. Colonies were placed in clothianidin seed-treated or control canola fields during bloom, and thereafter were moved to an apiary with no surrounding crops grown from seeds treated with neonicotinoids. Colony weight gain, honey production, pest incidence, bee mortality, number of adults, and amount of sealed brood were assessed in each colony throughout summer and autumn. Samples of honey, beeswax, pollen, and nectar were regularly collected, and samples were analyzed for clothianidin residues. Several of these endpoints were also measured in spring 2013. Overall, colonies were vigorous during and after the exposure period, and we found no effects of exposure to clothianidin seed-treated canola on any endpoint measures. Bees foraged heavily on the test fields during peak bloom and residue analysis indicated that honey bees were exposed to low levels (0.5-2 ppb) of clothianidin in pollen. Low levels of clothianidin were detected in a few pollen samples collected toward the end of the bloom from control hives, illustrating the difficulty of conducting a perfectly controlled field study with free-ranging honey bees in agricultural landscapes. Overwintering success did not differ significantly between treatment and control hives, and was similar to overwintering colony loss rates reported for the winter of 2012-2013 for beekeepers in Ontario and Canada. Our results suggest that exposure to canola grown from seed treated with clothianidin poses low risk to honey bees.
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Registered trials
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