Thiamethoxam honey bee colony feeding study: Linking effects at the level of the individual to those at the colony level

Neonicotinoid insecticides have been used globally on a wide range of crops through seed treatment as well as soil and foliar applications and have been increasingly studied in relation to the potential risk to bees because of their detection in pollen and nectar of bee‐attractive crops. The present article reports the results of laboratory studies (10‐d adult and 22‐d larval toxicity studies assessing the chronic toxicity of thiamethoxam to adult honey bees and larvae, respectively) and a colony feeding study, with 6 wk of exposure in an area with limited alternative forage, to provide a prewintering colony‐level endpoint. The endpoints following exposure of individuals in the laboratory (10‐d adult chronic no‐observed‐effect concentration [NOEC] for mortality 117 μg thiamethoxam/kg sucrose solution, 141 μg thiamethoxam/L sucrose solution; 22‐d larval chronic NOEC 102 μg thiamethoxam/kg diet) are compared with those generated at the colony level, which incorporates sublethal effects (no‐observed‐adverse‐effect concentration [NOAEC] 50 μg thiamethoxam/L sucrose solution, 43 μg thiamethoxam/kg sucrose solution). The data for sucrose‐fed honey bee colonies support the lack of effects identified in previous colony‐level field studies with thiamethoxam. However, unlike these field studies demonstrating no effects, colony feeding study data also provide a threshold level of exposure likely to result in adverse effects on the colony in the absence of alternative forage, and a basis by which to evaluate the potential risk of thiamethoxam residues detected in pollen, nectar, or water following treatment of bee‐attractive crops. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:816–828. © 2017 SETAC