Malnutrition is one of the main problems related to the global mass collapse of honey bee colonies, because in honey bees, malnutrition is associated with deterioration of the immune system and increased pesticide susceptibility. Another important cause of mass bee colonies losses is the use of pesticides. Therefore, the goal of this study was to verify the influence of polyphenols on longevity, food consumption, and cytochrome P450 gene expression in worker bees intoxicated by thiacloprid. The tests were carried out in vitro under artificial conditions (caged bees). A conclusively lower mortality rate and, in parallel, a higher average food intake, were observed in intoxicated bees treated using a mixture of phenolic acids and flavonoids compared to untreated intoxicated bees. This was probably caused by increased detoxification capacity caused by increased expression level of genes encoding the cytochrome P450 enzyme in the bees. Therefore, the addition of polyphenols into bee nutrition is probably able to positively affect the detoxification capacity of bees, which is often reduced by the impact of malnutrition resulting from degradation of the environment and common beekeeping management.

Department of Animal Breeding Faculty of AgriSciences Mendel University in Brno Zemedelska 1 613 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Crop Production Faculty of Agriculture University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice Studentska 1668 370 05 Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Department of Genetics and Agricultural Biotechnology Faculty of Agriculture University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice Studentska 1668 370 05 Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Department of Zoology Fisheries Hydrobiology and Apiculture Faculty of AgriSciences Mendel University in Brno Zemedelska 1 613 00 Brno Czech Republic

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