Pesticide exposures and consequences on life history traits of queens in Apis mellifera

This project enabled a retrospective assessment of the effects related to the use of plant protection products (PPP) during a whole potato crop season. In the field, cultivated soils presented multi-residual contamination by low doses of PPP, which may be old, consecutive to the culture or treatments of nearby plots; concerning tubers, few residues have been found, and at very low concentrations. In the laboratory, following oral exposure of mice, a transient, significant effect of PPP used for the culture and storage of harvested tubers on gene expression was observed, with a much lower effect on the intestinal microbiota. For exposures carried out in microcosms with cultivated soils, ecotoxicology models (earthworms, plants) expressed different responses, but few effects overall.