Apiculture Commons^™

Soil-Water Transport Of A Seed Coated Neonicotinoid Pesticide In Soybean/Maize Cultivation Systems, Geoffrey Nathaniel Duesterbeck

Masters Theses

The current decline of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) and other beneficial pollinator species is well documented. Several causes have been cited in this decline including: pathogens, pests, nutrition, and pesticide exposure. Since the advent of the neonicotinoid family of pesticides in the 1990’s an increase in honey bee colony loss has been observed. Neonicotinoid pesticides are commonly applied as a seed treatment to cotton, soybean and maize row crops. As the seed germinates, it absorbs the pesticide from the coating then spreads systemically throughout the entire plant. However, a large portion of the seed coating may stay …

Ecological Risks Of The Conventional Insecticide/Fungicide Seed Treatment Mixture Of Thiamethoxam And Mefenoxam In Soybean On Beneficial Insects, Carolina Camargo

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The impact of neonicotinoid seed treatments on beneficial insects has been a controversial topic during the last years. While neonicotinoids are usually used as mixtures with systemic fungicides, few studies have examined the impact of the mixtures on beneficial insects. Pesticide mixtures can have synergistic, additive, or antagonistic effects on the toxicity of neonicotinoids on non-target species.

Thiamethoxam with mefenoxam is the most used neonicotinoid insecticide/fungicide mixture applied to soybean. Based on the systemic nature of thiamethoxam and mefenoxam, residues of this insecticide/fungicide mixture can be present in soybean vegetative and floral tissue with potential impacts to beneficial insects. This …