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Student 10-Minute Presentation Competition

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Student Competition

Student

Grad 10-min Competition: P-IE, Behavior

Using QR-tracking and a vibrometry device to explore sublethal effects of thiamethoxam on bumble bee foraging behavior

Monday, November 10, 2025
12:18 PM - 12:30 PM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, D133-134, OCC
Oral Presentation Student Competition
Bees provide pollination services to both natural and agricultural ecosystems, but face threats like climate change and agrochemical exposure. To inform a future study investigating the effects of both heat and pesticide stress on the buzz pollination behavior in bumble bees, we chose three dosages of the pesticide thiamethoxam to determine what dosage should be used in future combined stressor studies. Colonies of Bombus impatiens were assigned to pesticide dosed pollen diets containing 0 (control), 3, 10, or 30ppb of thiamethoxam. Colonies were connected to a flight arena where they routinely foraged for sugar water. To determine impacts to foraging efficiency, foragers were tagged with QR codes on the thorax that were scanned with a Raspberry Pi device when a bee entered or exited the flight arena. To determine if bees could still perform buzz pollination, the Insect Eavesdropper, an acoustic sensor used to quantify insect mediated plant vibrations, was clipped to cut tomato flowers which were presented to tagged bees individually. Finally, to gain some insights on how pesticide exposure affects colony activity, using an exploratory approach, the same vibration device was clipped onto each nest box to record the colonies’ sound level outputs. We anticipate results will show pesticide groups declining in foraging efficiency as exposure to thiamethoxam is prolonged. We further anticipate that the 0, 3, and 10ppb exposed bees will still be able to buzz pollinate, with a possible decline in buzz characteristics like buzz frequency.