Pesticide-altered foraging behaviour as a pathway to ecological traps in pollinators: An individual-based modelling approach

Understanding the risks of pesticide exposure in agricultural environments is crucial for maintaining essential agroecosystem services. Pollinators’ behaviour can influence exposure routes, but their role in the formation of pesticide-induced ecological traps has received little attention. Using an individual-based modelling framework (BEE-STEWARD), I examined how three behavioural processes – preference for mass-flowering crops, inadvertent social information (ISI) use, and pesticide-induced foraging bias – affect nectar and pollen visitation rates of buff-tailed bumblebees ( Bombus terrestris ) to pesticide-treated crop patches located near or far from the colony. All behavioural processes increased visitation to treated patches, though their magnitude and context differed. Crop preference consistently elevated visitation rates, ISI use amplified nectar foraging on nearby crops when combined with preference, and pesticide-induced bias in foraging behaviour strongly increased pollen visits across distances. These results suggest that pesticides capable of altering patch quality assessment can create ecological traps for pollinators, even when untreated patches are available. Incorporating behavioural pathways into pesticide risk assessments could improve mitigation strategies in pesticide-treated agricultural landscapes.