Is Osmia bicornis an adequate regulatory surrogate? Comparing its acute contact sensitivity to Apis mellifera.

ABSTRACT: Bees provide essential ecosystem services and help maintain floral biodiversity. However, there is an ongoing decline of wild and domesticated bee species. Since agricultural pesticide use is a key driver of this process, there is a need for a protective risk assessment. To achieve a more protective registration process, two bee species, Osmia bicornis/Osmia cornuta and Bombus terrestris, were proposed by the European Food Safety Authority as additional test surrogates to the honey bee Apis mellifera. We investigated the acute toxicity (median lethal dose, LD50) of multiple commercial insecticide formulations towards the red mason bee (O. bicornis) and compared these values to honey bee regulatory endpoints. In two thirds of all cases, O. bicornis was less sensitive than the honey bee. By

SUBMITTER: Uhl P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6687126 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature