Assessment of Sublethal Effects of Imidacloprid on Honey Bee Colony Health Funded by NAPPC (Burt’s Bees) and USDA/ARS (Beltsville) Galen Dively and Mike Embrey, Dept. of Entomology, UMD Jeff Pettis, USDA/ARS (Beltsville) Since the mid 90s, crop protection has experienced major changes in the way that we protect crops from insect pests, weeds, and plant diseases. Some people refer to this as a revolution in crop protection. The two major forces driving these changes are: pesticide policy or regulation, namely the new Food Quality Protection Act, and advances in agricultural biotechnology. My assignment today is focus on these major issues confronting crop protection now and in the next five years. I will try to address these questions.
Functional Hive Experiment
Imidacloprid Residues Final Colony Status
Summary of First Year Results No differences in colony performance and bee strength. No effects on foraging activities. Some colonies experienced missing queens but not related to treatments. Currently conducting lab studies to determine if imidacloprid-exposed bees are less fit. Will repeat functional hive experiment and fitness studies in 2009