Ecotoxicology

, Volume 26, Issue 7, pp 902–913 | Cite as

Behavioural effects of the neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam on the predatory insect Platynus assimilis

  • Ene Tooming
  • Enno Merivee
  • Anne Must
  • Marten-Ingmar Merivee
  • Ivar Sibul
  • Karin Nurme
  • Ingrid H. Williams
Article
First Online:
Accepted:

Abstract

Little information is available regarding sublethal effects of neonicotinoids on insect predators, many of which perform important roles in ecosystem functioning and biocontrol. In this study, dose-dependent sublethal effects of a dietary administered neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam on two basic behaviours, locomotion and feeding, were quantified in the carabid Platynus assimilis (Coleoptera, Carabidae) using automated video-tracking and weighing of consumed food, respectively. Acute toxicity tests showed that, when orally administered, the LD50 of thiamethoxam for P. assimilis beetles was 114.5 ng/g. Thiamethoxam at 108.1 ng/g caused a short-term locomotor hyperactivity within several hours of treatment. Next day after exposure to the insecticide, all the beetles were in a state of locomotor hypoactivity independent of the administered dose ranging from 1.1 to 108.1 ng/g. Reduction in clean food consumption rate (CFCR) is another altered behavioural endpoint of poisoned insect predators as first demonstrated in this study. On the first day of thiamethoxam administration, a remarkable reduction in feeding only occurred in beetles treated at 108.1 ng/g but on the next day, this negative effect appeared even at doses ten to a hundred-fold lower. Recovery from locomotion abnormalities and reduced feeding took several days. Both locomotor activity and CFCR are sensitive and valuable ecotoxicological biomarkers of carabids which should be taken into account in Integrated Pest Management programs where optimal combination of reduced insecticide use and biological control by predatory insects is crucial to achieve best results.

Keywords

Ecotoxicology Acute toxicity Sublethal effects Locomotor activity Food consumption rate Carabids 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by institutional research funding IUT36-2 of the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research.

Compliance with ethical standards

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical responsibilities of authors

The authors confirm that they uphold the integrity of the scientific record.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Ene Tooming
    • 1
  • Enno Merivee
    • 1
  • Anne Must
    • 1
  • Marten-Ingmar Merivee
    • 2
  • Ivar Sibul
    • 3
  • Karin Nurme
    • 1
  • Ingrid H. Williams
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental SciencesEstonian University of Life SciencesTartuEstonia
  2. 2.School of Natural Sciences and HealthTallinn UniversityTallinnEstonia
  3. 3.Institute of Forestry and Rural EngineeringEstonian University of Life SciencesTartuEstonia

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