To pass on or not to pass on: The fate of orally ingested microplastic during cooperative brood care in two social Hymenoptera species

The fate of orally ingested microplastics during cooperative brood care in two social Hymenoptera species | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The fate of orally ingested microplastics during cooperative brood care in two social Hymenoptera species Gwen Büchner, Max V R Doering, Jona Schmitt, Sven Ritschar, Annalena Ter-Heide, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7695153/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Anthropogenic pollutants contribute to insect decline in terrestrial ecosystems. Microplastics (MP), a major pollutant, are already present in all ecosystems and expected to further accumulate. In social insects, negative effects of MP could not only manifest on individual but also colony level due to cooperative brood care. However, food is transferred differently during cooperative brood care among social Hymenoptera species. Therefore, it can also vary whether particles are passed on with food. Consequently, depending on the strategy of food transfer, the different life stages of a species could be affected by MP to varying degrees. To better assess interspecific differences, we comparatively investigated the fate of polystyrene MP particles during cooperative brood care in colonies of the Japanese carpenter ant ( Camponotus japonicus ) and the buff-tailed bumblebee ( Bombus terrestris ). Here we show that both, ant and bumblebee workers, ingested MP particles with their food. However, we only found MP particles in the digestive system of bumblebee workers and larvae, but not in ant larvae and only occasionally in workers. This is likely due to the infrabuccal pocket (IBP), only present in the ants, that effectively prevents the transfer of particulate matter within colonies during cooperative brood care. In contrast, the unobstructed transfer of MP from bumblebee workers to larvae may entail negative effects on larvae or carry-over effects during development. Thus, negative colony-level effects of MP particles on social Hymenoptera may be exacerbated in those species that lack an IBP. Carry-over effects social stomach trophallaxis infrabuccal pouch regurgitation Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files Appendix.docx GraphicalAbstract.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7695153","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":540890787,"identity":"af5292ff-c144-4cdd-b28f-62803bfb4e22","order_by":0,"name":"Gwen 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