Systemic insecticides: New risk for pollinator insects

Abstract

Imidacloprid, a new systemic insecticide used as seed-dressing, has been widely used in France since 1994. Its application mode and its efficiency allow a significant reduction in comparison with the usual quantity of chemicals used during pulverising treatment. But the insecticide imidacloprid is suspected to have harmful effects on the pollinators as many bees have died since its introduction. Recent studies have shown that imidacloprid has chronic and sublethal toxicities at levels of μg/kg or less. It was therefore necessary to detect imidacloprid at these levels in soils, plants, flowers, and pollens. With this aim, we characterised the bio-availability of imidacloprid in the environment using a new quantitative analytical method, as a basis for the evaluation of the risk for bees.