Insect’s (Honey Bee) Diversity: A Rapidly Growing Threat Accelerated by Environmental Pollutants
Insect’s (Honey Bee) Diversity: A Rapidly Growing Threat Accelerated by Environmental Pollutants
Saima Naz1*, Ahmad Manan Mustafa Chatha2, Sajjad Ali2 and Muhammad Irfan Ullah3
ABSTRACT
Insect’s diversity plays an important role in ecosystem. Different types of environmental pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides and antibiotics cause changes in insect diversity and continuously have become threat to health of living organisms. Additionally, pollutants coming from traffic smoke also affect the interaction of insects with other insects and plants. Exposure of toxic level of heavy metals can cause DNA damage, learning, sensory disability and memory deficit. Major portion of insects have malformed growth and mortality rate affected by heavy metals, mainly with the exposure of pesticides. On the other hand, pesticides not only alter the behavior, growth and developmental physiology, gut microbiota, but also cause mitochondrial abnormalities. The use of different antibiotics is also posing threat to bees by causing changes in the structure, productivity and physiology of their gut microbiota. The current review compared the effect of these environmental pollutants on bee diversity and their functional systems. Therefore, it can be indicated that all these environmental pollutants may pose serious negative effects on the fitness and survival of insects. It is suggested that these chemicals must be used with great care as they affect insect population.
Novelty Statement | This paper discusses the impact of heavy metals, pesticides and antibiotics pollution on the bee’s decline by disturbing their colony structure, productivity, morphology and physiology of their gut microbiota for first time. The study will raise the concerns about the bee conservation.
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June 2022
Vol. 37, Iss. 1, pp. 1-92
