Agronomy

Biology

Toxicology

Botany

Biological pest control

Imidacloprid

Insect

Pollen

Whitefly

Pollinator

Pesticide

Beneficial insects

Phloem

Nectar

Pollination

Honeydew

Neonicotinoid

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance The use of insecticides in agriculture is one of the suggested causes of the decline in insect populations. Neonicotinoids are among the most widely used insecticides. However, they have important negative side effects, especially for pollinators and other beneficial insects feeding on floral nectar and pollen. We identified an exposure route: Neonicotinoids reach and kill beneficial insects when they feed on the most abundant carbohydrate source for insects in agroecosystems, honeydew. Honeydew is the excretion product of phloem-feeding hemipteran insects such as aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, or psyllids. This route of exposure is likely to affect a much wider range of beneficial insects and crops than contaminated nectar. Therefore, it should be included in future environmental risk assessments of neonicotinoids.

Neonicotinoids in excretion product of phloem-feeding insects kill beneficial insects