Ingestible hydrogel microparticles improve bee health after pesticide exposure

Bees provide crucial pollination services for crop cultivation, contributing billions of dollars to the global agricultural economy. However, exposure to pesticides such as neonicotinoids represents a major problem for bee health, necessitating strategies that can improve agricultural sustainability and pollinator health. Here we report a simple and scalable solution, through ingestible hydrogel microparticles (IHMs), which can capture neonicotinoids in vitro and in the bee gastrointestinal tract to mitigate the harmful effects of pesticides. Using the common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) as a model species and the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, we demonstrated by means of lethal and sublethal assays the substantial benefits of IHM treatments. Under lethal exposure of imidacloprid, bumblebees that received IHM treatment exhibited a 30% increase in survival relative to groups without IHM treatment. After a sublethal exposure of 5 ng, IHM treatment resulted in improved feeding motivation and a 44% increase in the number of bees that engaged in locomotor activity. Wingbeat frequency was significantly lower after a single 5 or 10 ng imidacloprid dose; however, IHM treatment improved wingbeat frequency. Overall, the IHMs improved bumblebee health, and with further optimization have the potential to benefit apiculture and reduce risk during crop pollination by managed bees.