The potential impact of sub-lethal doses of neonicotinoid pesticides on behaviour is assessed for honey bees and non-target arthropods through consideration of the impact on colonies/populations as part of the regulatory risk assessment. The Government are currently considering the impact of sub-lethal doses of neonicotinoid pesticides on the resistance to disease in pollinating insects through a Defra-funded research project that is investigating the relationship between pesticide residues and disease levels in honey bees.

The current EU risk assessment for systemic pesticides applied as seed treatments, pellets, or granules considers risks to honey bees foraging flowering crops grown from seed or in soil treated with such products. Data are collected from semi-field or field studies. In the last two years, two international risk assessment schemes have been developed that outline step-wise procedures which, in the first instance, use information on the likely exposure in pollen and/or nectar and data on the toxicity of honey bees under laboratory conditions. If there is the likelihood of concern then further data, for example from semi-field or field studies, may be requested. The European Food Safety Authority is considering these schemes along with other information in developing a new bee risk assessment scheme for use by all member states. UK experts are contributing to this work.

An assessment of the environmental fate and behaviour of pesticides in air, soil and water is a standard requirement in the EU pesticides regime. It includes an assessment of persistence and mobility for both the active substance and metabolites or degradation products formed in the environment. For persistent compounds, there is an assessment of the potential to accumulate in soil. There is also a consideration of the possibility of residues occurring in crops planted in the soil after crops previously treated with neonicotinoids were grown. In all cases, the current assessments of neonicotinoids meet the regulatory requirements.