The history of Systemic Insecticides HORT 5009 S 2009 Vera Krischik Department of Entomology University of Minnesota Issues in 2000 Systemic insecticides Systemic insecticides In Silent Spring Rachael Carson discusses the use of Scharaden and that bee keepers think it is killing bees One of the first organophophate insecticides found to be translocated to nectar was Schradan which was developed in WWII as a nerve gas and was discontinued in 1964 It was found at levels of 5500 ppb in nectar of white mustard Sinapis alba flowers 3 12 d post spraying of unopened buds Jones and Thomas 1953 Honey bees collected the contaminated nectar and stored it as honey in the colony with no breakdown of the schradan for at least two and a half months Anderson and Atkins 1968 but it did not cause honeybee mortality New issues A foliar spray of dimethoate on containerized alfalfa Medicago sativa L Cygon 2E 23 4 AI American Cyanaimid Company Wayne NJ resulted in 16 000 ppb in florets that were uncovered and 5 000 ppb in covered florets After 2 wk 1 000 ppb dimethoate was found in both covered and uncovered florets Sucrose water spiked with 1 000 ppb dimethoate killed 8 of honey bees when fed for 7 d However 10 000 ppb killed 82 of honey bees in 1 d Barker et al 1980 Aldicarb an organophophate insecticide Temik 15 G 15 AI Bayer Crop Science Research Triangle Park NC applied to the soil of container grown cotton in the greenhouse was translocated to the extrafloral nectaries and reduced the longevity of the parasitoid Microplitis croceipes Cresson Stapel et al 2000 New issues Metabolites of aldicarb Temik no AI given were found in orange and grapefruit nectar at concentrations of 600 and 220 ppb Sanford 1986 The recently developed neonicotinyl class of insecticides such as imidacloprid foliar and soil applications acetamiprid foliar dinoteferan foliar soil clothianidin foliar soil and thiamethoxam foliar soil are are less toxic to mammals than organophosphates Tomizawa and Casida 2005 but like organophosphates may be translocated to nectar New issues Recently the translocation of systemic neonicotinyl insecticides into nectar and pollen has been suggested as one of the facors behind Colony Collapse Disorder CCD and the decline in honeybees Gaucho an imidacloprid seed treatment Bayer CropScience Germany was banned in France from1998 present Fipronil systemic but not a neonicotinyl was banned in France in 2008 Apiservices 2005 Bonizzoni et al 2006 Gaucho was banned in Italy and Slovenia in 2008 Benjamin 2008 and in Germany in 2008 along with 4 other systemic insecticides clothianidin imidacloprid fipronil and thiamethoxam Commins 2008 In 2008 NRDC Natural Resources Defense Council sued the USDA and EPA for information on neonicotinyl insecticides Systemic insecticides Soil applied imidacloprid Is translocated to nectar and reduces survival of beneficial insects Gaucho imidacloprid seed treatment banned in France from 1999 2008 Neonicotinoid pesticide banned in Germany May 21 2008 The German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety BVL suspended registration of seed treatment products used in oilseed rape and sweetcorn The suspended insecticides are Antarc imidacloprid Bayer Chinook imidacloprid Bayer Cruiser thiamethoxam Syngenta Elado clothianidin Bayer Faibel imidacloprid Bayer Mesurol methiocarb Bayer and Poncho clothianidin Bayer Neonicotinoid pesticide banned in Germany May 21 2008 According to the German Research Centre for Cultivated Plants 29 out of 30 dead bees it had examined had been killed by clothianidin Walter Haefeker president European Professional Beekeepers Association reported that dead bees were found at the entrance of hives when corn seeding takes place Also wild bees and other insects are suffering from a significant loss of population Imidacloprid use in landscapes in USA Agricultural crops Gaucho Admire Provado Turf Merit Merit w fertilizer Greenhouse and nursery Marathon Ready to use 2 in 1 plant spikes 3 in 1 rose and potting mix tree and shrub insect control rose and flower insect control Injected for landscape trees Imicide Pointer D Cappaert MSU Imidacloprid use in landscapes in USA Imidacloprid implicated in CCD in the foraging environment Most research on Gaucho treated seed levels of imidacloprid in nectar may be more for GH than Gaucho since plants are treated at flowering Imidacloprid persists in leaves for up to 2 years Szezepaniec Raupp 2007 Tenczar and Krischik 2007 Gupta and Krischik 2007 How long does imidacloprid persist in nectar Imidacloprid translocation to nectar Gaucho seed treatments Imidacloprid in nectar 1 9 ppb in sunflower nectar Schmuck et al 2001 0 6 8 ppb in canola nectar Scott Dupree Spivak 2001 Imidacloprid soil treatments 3 10 ppb in purple tansy nectar Wallner et al 1999 15 ppb 1X and 27 ppb 2X buckwheat nectar Krischik et al 2007 Imidacloprid alters bee behavior 20 100 ppb decrease in foraging Kirchener 1999 24 ppb disrupts learning olfactory conditioning Decourtye et al 2004 6 ppb disruption of feeding Colin et al 2004 6 ppb imidacloprid found in pollen loads of in France in 2006 Chauzat et al 2006 bees Imidacloprid persistence in soils 2 22 ppb in fields planted with Gaucho treated seed taken up the consecutive year in untreated flowers 1 2 ppb Bonmatin et al 2005 14 29 ppb in grass and 22 54 ppb in flowers growing in a field planted with Gaucho treated seed Greatti et al 2003 Conservation biocontrol Soil applied imidacloprid Is translocated to nectar and reduces survival of beneficials 1 Duration in nectar of landscape ornamentals compared to Gaucho seed treatment Rogers and Krischik 2008 in review 2 Efficacy and duration imidacloprid in poplars in field and containers Tenczar and Krischik 2007 3 Efficacy and duration imidacloprid in roses in containers Gupta and Krischik 2006 4 Non target effects of on beneficials encyrtid parasitoid Krischik et al 2007 green lacewing Rogers et al 2007 3 species of lady beetles Coleomegilla Harmonia Hippodamia Smith and Krischik 2000 Krischik in MS 2008 Imidacloprid residue in nectar Residue analysis of Asclepias curassavica tropical mikweed flowers after an application of soil applied imidacloprid Marathon 1 G Imidacloprid residue in nectar Granular imidacloprid Marathon 1 G applied to the soil of A curassavica plants C 1X 2X Residue analysis at 3 intervals post application 21 27 d 33 38 d and 59 63 d after application Reapplied 7 mo later These flowers were collected at 21 d after the second