Bt corn and the monarch butterfly

Rehman Javaid (5229095)

This study set out to examine the non-target effects of transgenic Bt corn using the monarch
butterfly. This study looked at the extent to which corn pollen dispersed, the mortality of larvae exposed
to field deposited pollen, and a rigorous laboratory assessment of lethality and sub-lethality of a range
of pollen concentrations on larvae and adults.
The researchers determined pollen dispersal rates by measuring the amount of pollen on
milkweed plants placed at various intervals from corn fields. Larvae mortality to field deposited pollen
was determined using leaf disks taken from milkweed plants in the field. Laboratory assessment of
lethality and sub-lethality was done using pollen collected from the field but the larvae were exposed to
the pollen in a systematic way. The researchers mention that some of their control pollen (non-Bt) was
contaminated with Bt pollen, which explains some anomalous results see in Fig 1.
Overall this study found that pollen dispersion was highest in the corn field and dropped off
rapidly after 1m from field edge. Of the larvae exposed to field pollen, a negative effect was seen but it
was not correlated with amount of pollen or plant location. Laboratory assessment of lethality and sub-
lethality showed a clear negative effect (of Bt pollen) even at the lower concentrations, but the study
found that if larvae survived the first 48 hours, no sub-lethal effects were apparent.
A talking point is that larvae that survive the first 48 hours do not suffer sub-lethal effects, this
points to larvae being more susceptible to the pollen when they are young and developing.
Another talking point is that after 10 meters from field edge, the amount of pollen grains is highly
reduced, this hints at a possible intervention that farmers could implement; planting small plots of
milkweed past 10 meters to act as artificial habitats could help to alleviate the negative effects of Bt
corn plantings. Lastly the contamination that occurred during this experiment (non-Bt pollen became
contaminated with Bt pollen) shows us a real world example of how important proper experimental
methods are to conducting experiments, and the importance of proper disclosure.