The honey bee is an important beneficial insect. Due to the specific use of honey bees for crop pollination, honey bee colonies often experience multiple and prolonged pesticide exposure events. The use of pesticides should therefore minimize the risks to honey bee health at the colony level. Studies assessing pesticide effects on colonies should be designed to reflect a realistic worst case exposure scenario but should be influenced minimally by external factors. Here, we compare different methods which were designed to explore this goal, focusing on strengths and weaknesses of the most common study designs and identifying some common issues encountered during the conduct of these study types. In semi-field studies based on the OECD Guidance Document 75 (2007) and the EPPO 1/170 (4), colonies are set up in individual tunnels erected over a highly attractive flowering crop applied with the test item. The bees are usually exposed to the treated crop for 7-10 days. For assessment of effects on honey bee brood, a feeding study design first described by Oomen et al. (1992) is used. Sugar solution spiked with the test item is fed to the bees once or daily for several consecutive days. The bees are set up on a single site and are allowed to forage freely. In an extended feeding study proposed by the SAP White Paper (2012), colonies are set up at multiple sites. Each site comprises several colonies treated with different levels of pesticide concentration in the feeding solution. The colonies are usually exposed over several weeks with multiple feeding events. In a field test according to EPPO 1/170 (4), multiple colonies are set up at the edge of at least one field treated with the test substance. Potential effects can be detected by comparing data to colonies set up at an untreated field. <br/>

Assessment of pesticide risks on honey bee colonies in higher tier studies

254th National Meeting (2017)

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