Dr. Chris Mullin from Pennsylvania State University's Department of Entomology will be presenting this research as a part of the spring semester seminar series and the Dahm Memorial Lecture Series. The seminar will be located in E164 Lagomarcino Hall.
Abstract. Honey bees are sensitive to widespread co-formulants used in agrochemicals, and evaluation of the role of these ‘inerts or inactives’ in pollinator decline is only in its formative stages. Effects include learning impairment for adult bees and oral toxicity for larvae and adults. Billions of pounds of formulation ingredients from all uses are released into US environments, making this an important component of the chemical landscape to which bees are exposed. Most inerts are generally recognized as safe, have no mandated tolerances, and their residues are unmonitored. Lack of disclosure of formulation ingredients in major products and lack of adequate methods for their analysis constrain the assessment of total chemical load and agrochemical exposures on bees. Most studies to document pesticide effects on terrestrial non-targets such as honey bee are performed without the formulation or other relevant spray adjuvant components used to environmentally apply the toxicant. Formulations are generally more toxic than active ingredients, particularly fungicides, by up to 26,000-fold based on published literature. Some ‘inert’ candidates for future risk assessment for pollinators include the organosilicone surfactants and the co-solvent N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone
The ENT seminar series is coordinated by Greg Courtney and Rick Hellmich. Please contact them with any questions about this event.