A predatory social wasp does not avoid nestmates contaminated with a fungal biopesticide

Autor(es)

de Souza, Andre Rodrigues ; Prato, Amanda ; Franca, Wilson ; Santos, Sircio ; Lima, Luan Dias ; Alves, Denise Araujo ; Bernardes, Rodrigo Cupertino ; Santos, Eduardo Fernando ; do Nascimento, Fabio Santos ; Lima, Maria Augusta Pereira

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Environmental Science and Pollution Research; v. 30, n. 47, p. 11-pg., 2023-09-11.

Resumo

Fungus-based biopesticides have been used worldwide for crop pest control as a safer alternative to chemical pesticides such as neonicotinoids. Both agrochemicals can be lethal and may also trigger side effects on the behavioral traits of non-target social insects, which play a crucial role in providing essential biological pest control services in agroecosystems. Here, we evaluated whether a commercial formulation of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana or the neonicotinoid imidacloprid causes mortality in foragers of Mischocyttarus metathoracicus. These social wasps are natural enemies of caterpillars and other herbivorous insects and inhabit both urban and agricultural environments in Brazil. We also tested whether wasps discriminate between biopesticide-exposed and unexposed conspecifics. Through a combination of laboratory (survival assay) and field experiments (lure presentation), along with chemical analyses (cuticular hydrocarbon profiles), we showed that topic exposure to the label rate of each pesticide causes a lethal effect, with the biopesticide exhibiting a slower effect. Moreover, wasps do not discriminate biopesticide-exposed from unexposed conspecifics, likely because of the similarity of their cuticular chemical profiles 24 h after exposure. Overall, the delayed lethal time at the individual level, combined with the indistinctive chemical cues of exposure and the lack of discrimination by conspecifics suggests that the fungal biopesticide may ultimately pose a threat to the colony survival of this predatory wasp. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 18/10996-0 - Evo-Devo perspectiva sobre a divisão reprodutiva do trabalho em vespas
• Beneficiário: Fábio Santos do Nascimento
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 19/08029-4 - Análise das redes de dominância e atividade colonial em Mischocyttarus metathoracicus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)
• Beneficiário: Wilson França de Oliveira Neto
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Mestrado
• Processo FAPESP: 20/14464-2 - Seleção sexual em vespas sociais neotropicais
• Beneficiário: André Rodrigues de Souza
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Jovens Pesquisadores
• Processo FAPESP: 20/06632-2 - Fauna de Thynninae Neotropical: distribuição e novos dados morfológicos e moleculares para a taxonomia do grupo
• Beneficiário: Eduardo Fernando dos Santos
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 21/00984-7 - Estratégias químicas de mirmecófilos para lidar com formigas: uma abordagem multidisciplinar
• Beneficiário: Luan Dias Lima
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 22/07997-0 - História natural em machos de vespas sociais (Hymenoptera:Vespidae)
• Beneficiário: Amanda Prato da Silva
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Programa Capacitação - Treinamento Técnico