The Dirt and The Bees: The Epidemiology of Neonicotinoids

Abstract

Neonicotinoids, such as Thiamethoxam (TMX ) and its metabolite Clothianidin (CLO ), are widely used insecticides commonly coated on planting seeds. Due to their contamination of waterways, their accumulation in aquatic organisms is often lethal and possibly contributes to the decline of honey bees. In order to understand the distribution of TMX and CLO in an agricultural-urban-mixed impacted stream, their levels in sediments from seven locations along Stroubles Creek, Blacksburg were investigated. The sediment samples were extracted using liquid/solid extraction, cleaned up using PSA , and analyzed on a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC /MS /MS). The following study suggests the ability of insecticide to travel through the soil to the creek, shows lower levels of CLO than TMX , and reveals the necessity of further research in regards to CLO concentration. Overall, this study re-affirms that TMX can travel into an adjacent aquatic system, which honey bees use for their water foraging needs.