A novel pesticide has lethal consequences for an important pollinator.

Wild bees pollinate crops and wildflowers where they are frequently exposed to pesticides. Neonicotinoids are the most commonly used insecticide globally, but restrictions on their use and rising pest resistance have increased the demand for alternative pesticides. Flupyradifurone is a novel insecticide that has been licenced globally for use on bee-visited crops.

A novel insecticide impairs bumblebee memory and sucrose responsiveness across high and low nutrition.

Wild bees are important pollinators of crops and wildflowers but are exposed to a myriad of different anthropogenic stressors, such as pesticides and poor nutrition, as a consequence of intensive agriculture. These stressors do not act in isolation, but interact, and may exacerbate one another. Here, we assessed whether a field-realistic concentration of flupyradifurone, a novel pesticide that has been labelled as 'bee safe' by regulators, influenced bumblebee sucrose responsiveness and long-term memory.