Establishing realistic exposure estimates of solitary bee larvae via pollen for use in risk assessment

Bees foraging in agricultural habitats can be exposed to plant protection products. To limit the risk of adverse events, a robust risk assessment is needed, which requires reliable estimates for the expected exposure. The exposure pathways to developing solitary bees in particular are not well described and, in the currently proposed form, rely on limited information. To build a scaling model predicting the amount of protein developing solitary bees need based on adult body weight, we used published data on the volume of pollen solitary bees provide for their offspring. This model was tested against and ultimately updated with additional literature data on bee weight and protein content of emerged bees. We rescaled this model, based on the known pollen protein content of bee-visited flowers, to predict the expected amount of pollen a generalist solitary bee would likely provide based on its adult body weight, and tested these predictions in the field. We found overall agreement between the models' predictions and the measured values in the field, but additional data are needed to confirm these initial results. Our study suggests that scaling models in the bee risk assessment could complement existing risk assessment approaches and facilitate the further development of accurate risk characterization for solitary bees; ultimately the models will help to protect them during their foraging activity in agricultural settings. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;00:1-6. (c) 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Automated summary

The study found that scaling models in bee risk assessment can predict the food requirements of solitary bees in agricultural settings and help protect their food sources. Overall, the model predictions were consistent with measured values in the field, but more data are needed to confirm these results.