Contact toxicity of three insecticides for use in tier I pesticide risk assessments with Megachile rotundata (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

The current pesticide risk assessment paradigm may not adequately protect solitary bees as it focuses primarily on the honey bee (Apis mellifera). The alfalfa leafcutting bee (Megachile rotundata) is a potential surrogate species for use in pesticide risk assessment for solitary bees in North America. However, the toxicity of potential toxic reference standards to M. rotundata will need to be determined before pesticide risk assessment tests (tier I trials) can be implemented. Therefore, we assessed the acute topical toxicity and generated LD50 values for three insecticides: dimethoate (62.08 ng a.i./bee), permethrin (50.01 ng a.i./bee), and imidacloprid (12.82 ng a.i/bee). The variation in the mass of individual bees had a significant but small effect on these toxicity estimates. Overall, the toxicity of these insecticides to M. rotundata were within the 10-fold safety factor currently used with A. mellifera toxicity estimates from tier I trials to estimate risk to other bee species. Therefore, tier I pesticide risk assessments with solitary bees may not be necessary, and efforts could be directed to developing more realistic, higher-tier pesticide risk assessment trials for solitary bees.

Automated summary

The study assessed the acute topical toxicity of three insecticides on the alfalfa leafcutting bee and determined LD50 values. Individual bee mass variation had a significant but small effect on toxicity estimates. Overall, the toxicity of these insecticides on the alfalfa leafcutting bee fell within the 10-fold safety factor currently used for honey bee toxicity estimates.