ABSTRACT

Significant changes have occurred over the past few years in European and French legislation with regard to environmental risk assessment of plant protection products. Regarding honey bees, the tests requested depend on the intrinsic characteristics of the product and its method of use. Whenever the honey bee is likely to be exposed to chemical plant protection products, during or after treatment, laboratory toxicity tests are requested leading to the calculation of the hazard quotient. This value determines the subsequent tests to be carried out: cage tests, tunnel tests, or field tests, according to the test guidelines harmonized at the European level. In addition, specific procedures currently available in the United States are presented.