Neonicotinoids from insecticidal seed coatings can contaminate soil in treated fields and adjacent areas, posing a potential risk to nontarget organisms ecological function. To determine if cover crops mitigate neonicotinoid contamination we measured concentrations for three years no-till corn-soybean rotations, planted with or without coatings, small grain crops. Although neonicotinoids were d...

Laboratory bioassays were carried out with four neonicotinoid insecticides on multiple strains of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) to evaluate resistance and cross-resistance patterns. Three imidacloprid-resistant strains and field populations from three different locations in the southwestern USA were compared in systemic uptake bioassays with acetamiprid, dinotefuran, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam....

In recent years, an intense debate about the environmental risks posed by neonicotinoids, a group of widely used, neurotoxic insecticides, has been joined. When these systemic compounds are applied to seeds, low concentrations are subsequently found in the nectar and pollen of the crop, which are then collected and consumed by bees. Here we demonstrate that the current focus on exposure to pest...

The 2013 EU ban of three neonicotinoids used in seed coating of pollinator attractive crops was put in place because of concern about declining wild pollinator populations and numbers of honeybee colonies. It was also concluded that there is an urgent need for good field data to fill knowledge gaps. In the meantime such data have been generated. Based on recent literature we question the existe...

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are targets for human and veterinary medicines as well as insecticides. Subtype-selectivity among the diverse nAChR family members is important for medicines targeting particular disorders, and pest-insect selectivity is essential for the development of safer, environmentally acceptable insecticides. Neonicotinoid insecticides selectively targeting...

There has been recent interest in the threat to bees posed by the use of systemic insecticides. One concern is that systemic insecticides may translocate from the soil into pollen and nectar of plants, where they would be ingested by pollinators. This paper reports on the movement of two such systemic neonicotinoid insecticides, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, into the pollen and nectar of flowe...

To combat an increasing abundance of sucking insect pests, >40 pesticides are currently recommended and frequently used as foliar sprays on row crops, especially cotton. Foraging honey bees may be killed when they are directly exposed to foliar sprays, or they may take contaminated pollen back to hives that maybe toxic to other adult bees and larvae. To assess acute toxicity against the honey b...

Neonicotinoids, broad-spectrum systemic insecticides, are the fastest growing class of insecticides worldwide and are now registered for use on hundreds of field crops in over 120 different countries. The environmental profile of this class of pesticides indicate that they are persistent, have high leaching and runoff potential, and are highly toxic to a wide range of invertebrates. Therefore, ...