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Assessing Effects of Pesticides on the Bee Immune System
Citation:
Lehmann, D. Assessing Effects of Pesticides on the Bee Immune System. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, August 20 - 24, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Populations of some managed and wild pollinators are in decline as a result of multiple interacting factors including parasites, disease, poor nutrition and pesticides. The role that diminished immunity plays in these declines is not understood. This presentation will discuss efforts to examine immune responses in non-Apis bees and how those responses relate to effects observed in honey bees.
Description:
Populations of some managed and wild pollinators are in decline as a result of multiple interacting factors including parasites, disease, poor nutrition and pesticides. The role that diminished immunity plays in these declines is not understood. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working to identify and implement tests for assessing the impact of pesticides on bees including sublethal effects on the immune system. These efforts are a response to goals described in the National Strategy for Promoting the Health of Honey Bees [Apis mellifera] and Other Pollinators. Although sublethal effects may be measured in these studies, it is uncertain how these measurement endpoints may relate to regulatory risk assessment endpoints and the extent to which honey bees serve as a reasonable surrogate for non-Apis bees. The National Strategy and the 2012 EPA White Paper describing the conceptual framework for assessing risks of pesticides to bees, discussed uncertainties related to assessing exposure and effects to solitary and social bees from individual pesticides and combinations of pesticides. This presentation will discuss efforts to examine immune responses in non-Apis bees and how those responses relate to effects observed in honey bees.