ArticleCommunications biology2026
Bee swimming is adaptive but disrupted by insecticide.
Article in Communications biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Bee swimming is adaptive but disrupted by insecticide.Communications biology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A unique type of locomotion was recently discovered that honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) could propel their own body on water surface by keeping their upper wing surface dry while moving their wings. However, it was not clear whether such locomotive behavior was ecologically meaningful. Here we show that honey bees preferred a dark region (skototaxis) while hydrofoiling on the water surface in trying to reach the edge. However, this skototaxis was disrupted by a neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam, via reducing the honey bees' motor control. Finally, we show that mason bees (Osmia excavata) also displayed skototaxis, showing a significantly stronger preference for dark than honey bees. The female mason bees exhibited higher efficiency than males in swimming, as indicated by their shorter durations and distances. These findings suggest that swimming behavior in bees evolved before sociality and serves important adaptive and ecological functions. However, environmental pollution from excessive pesticide use may negatively impact this behavior.
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