In the first study of its kind, scientists have discovered that feeding bees absorbent bits of hydrogel boosts their chances of surviving exposure to toxic pesticides.
As key pollinators, bees provide essential services to both wild plants and human-grown crops. But the pollen they ingest is often contaminated with chemicals that can have devastating biological effects on the bees, such as spurring colony collapse or causing near-instant death.
Ants change the way they build nests to stop diseases from spreading. Earlier studies found that particles of hydrogel – a soft, non-toxic material that is highly absorbent – mixed into the soil can bind to and trap neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides widely banned in Europe, but still used in the US. That led Julia Caserto and her colleagues to investigate if small pieces of hydrogel could neutralize pesticides inside the bodies of common eastern bumblebees (Bombus impatiens).
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