Ongoing honey bee colony losses are of significant international concern because of the essential role these insects play in pollinating many high nutrient crops, such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Both chemical and non-chemical stressors have been implicated as possible contributors to colony failure; however, the potential role(s) of commonly-used neonicotinoid insecticides has emerged as particularly concerning. Neonicotinoids act on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the central nervous system to eliminate target pest insects. However, mounting evidence indicates that these neonicotinoids also may adversely affect beneficial pollinators, such as the honey bee (Apis mellifera), via impairments on learning and memory, and ultimately foraging success. The specific mechanisms linking activation of the nAChR to adverse effects on learning and memory are uncertain. Additionally, clear connections between observed impacts on individual bees and colony level effects are lacking. The objective of this review was to develop adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) as a means to evaluate the biological plausibility and empirical evidence supporting (or refuting) the linkage between activation of the physiological target site, the nAChR, and colony level consequences. Development of AOPs has led to the identification of research gaps which, for example, may be of high priority in understanding how perturbation of pathways involved in neurotransmission can adversely affect normal colony functions, causing colony instability and subsequent bee population failure. A putative AOP network was developed, laying the foundation for further insights as to the role of combined chemical and non-chemical stressors in impacting bee populations. Insights gained from the putative AOP network assembly, which more realistically represents multi-stressor impacts on honey bee colonies, are promising toward understanding common sensitive nodes in key biological pathways and identifying where mitigation strategies may be focused to reduce colony losses. This dataset is not publicly accessible because: No data, literature review only. It can be accessed through the following means: N/A. Format: N/A.

This dataset is associated with the following publication: LaLone, C., D. Villeneuve, J. Wu-Smart, R. Milsk, K. Sappington, K. Garber, J. Housenger, and G. Ankley. Weight of evidence evaluation of a network of adverse outcome pathways linking activation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in honey bees to colony death. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT. Elsevier BV, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, 584: 751–775, (2017).