Planting of neonicotinoid-treated maize poses risks for honey bees and other non-target organisms over a wide area without consistent crop yield benefit

1. Neonicotinoid insecticides are routinely used as seed treatments on most grain and oilseed crops in the USA, yet the extent and likelihood of spread of insecticide residues during planting has not previously been quantified. 2. Honey bees, Apis mellifera, are highly mobile and highly sensitive to neonicotinoid residues, presenting an opportunity to estimate non-target exposures to neonicotinoids in mobile insects. We measured neonicotinoid dust drift during maize sowing and used sites of maize fields, apiary locations and honey bee foraging radii to estimate likelihood of forager exposure. We performed a concurrent multi-year field assessment of the pest management benefits of neonicotinoid-treated maize. 3. Our results indicate that over 94% of honey bee foragers throughout the state of Indiana are at risk of exposure to varying levels of neonicotinoid insecticides, including lethal levels, during sowing of maize. We documented no benefit of the insecticidal seed treatments for crop yield during the study. 4. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrate movement of neonicotinoid residues well beyond planted fields occurs during maize sowing in Indiana. Based on locations of maize fields and apiaries in the state, the likelihood of neonicotinoid exposure for foraging honey bees is high. Other non-target organisms are also likely to encounter neonicotinoid residues; we conservatively estimate that deposition of neonicotinoid residues on non-target lands and waterways will occur on over 42% of the state of Indiana during the period of maize sowing. However, we also demonstrate that the risk to pollinators and other non-target organisms may be rapidly and dramatically reduced without yield penalties, by aligning use rates of neonicotinoid insecticides with pest incidence.