Toxicity and behavioral effects of fungicides on honey bees

Pollinators are often exposed to fungicides while pollinating agricultural crops. During bloom, many crops depend on fungicide applications for efficient disease management and imported honey bee colonies for adequate pollination. Declines in honey bee colony health have raised concerns about the impacts of fungicides on our pollinators. Specifically, the five most used fungicides during New Jersey's blueberry bloom: Abound, Quash, Pristine, Switch, and Ziram. When these fungicides are applied to potted blueberry bushes, they have various impacts on foragers in a behavioral choice study conducted in flight tunnels. When these fungicides are brought into the lab and fed to larvae, high mortality rates occurred with the most attractive fungicide, Ziram.