Impact of Pesticides on Pollinators and other Non-target ... · Impact of Pesticides on Pollinators...

Impact of Pesticides on Pollinators and other Non-target Organisms

Keith Tignor Virginia Department of Agriculture

and Consumer Services

What is an Ideal Pollinator?

• Mobile

• Large number of individuals

• Attracted to pollen source

• Apparatus to carry pollen

Presidential Memorandum June 20, 2014

• Created a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators

• Establish Pollinator Health Task Force

• Mission and Function of the Task Force: – Pollinator Research Action Plan – Public Education Plan – Public-Private Partnerships

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Status Review for the Monarch Butterfly

• Migration more perilous for many monarchs because of threats along their migratory pathways and on their breeding and wintering grounds.

• Habitat loss – Over wintering site – Migratory pathways

• Mortality resulting from pesticide use – Adult mortality from insecticides – Loss of milkweed from herbicides

What is a Pesticide

• Agent used to kill or control undesired insects, weeds, rodents, fungi, bacteria, or other organisms

• Pesticides are classified according to function: – Avicide – birds – Herbicides – weeds – Fungicides – fungi, mold and mildew – Insecticides – insects – Rodenticides – rodents

• Herbicides are the most widely used type of pesticide in agriculture

Pesticides Registered for Use in Virginia

11,861

14,214 14,500 14,875 15,211 14,570

0

3000

6000

9000

12000

15000

18000

2003* . . . 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Re

gist

ere

d P

est

icid

es

(no

.)

Year

Product count based on number registered on October 1 of each year.

Categories of Pesticides

ALGAECIDE HERBICIDE FERTILIZER WITH INSECTICIDE INSECTICIDE & NEMATICIDE PLANT GROWTH REGULATOR

ALGICIDE FERTILIZER WITH INSECTICIDE

& HERBICIDE INSECTICIDE & REPELLENT

PLANT GROWTH REGULATOR WITH FERTILIZER

ANTIFOULANT PAINT FERTILIZER WITH INSECTICIDE

AND FUNGICIDE INSECTICIDE & TERMITICIDE

PLANT-INCORPORATED PROTECTANT

AVICIDE FUMIGANT INSECTICIDE ACARICIDE REPELLENT

BIOCIDE (ALGAE, SLIME, BACTERIA, FUNGI)

FUNGICIDE INSECTICIDE, DISINFECTANT

& FUNGICIDE RODENTICIDE

BIONEMATICIDE FUNGICIDE & NEMATICIDE INSECTICIDE, FUNGICIDE,

MITICIDE SANITIZER

DEFOLIANT FUNGICIDE, HERBICIDE,

INSECTICIDE & NEMATICIDE LURE (PHEROMONES) SANITIZER & ALGICIDE

DISINFECTANT HERBICIDE MISCELLANEOUS SANITIZER & DISINFECTANT

DISINFECTANT, ALGAECIDE INSECT GROWTH REGULATOR MITICIDE (ACARICIDE) SANITIZER, DISINFECTANT, &

VIRUCIDE DISINFECTANT, FUNGICIDE,

VIRUCIDE INSECTICIDE MOLLUSCICIDE

SANITIZER, DISINFECTANT, FUNGICIDE, VIRUCIDE

FERTILIZER WITH FUNGICIDE INSECTICIDE & FUNGICIDE NEMATICIDE TERMITICIDE

FERTILIZER WITH HERBICIDE INSECTICIDE & MITICIDE OTHER TERMITICIDE, INSECTICIDE,

FUNGICIDE

Registered Pesticides in Virginia in 2014

INSECTICIDE

DISINFECTANT

HERBICIDE

FUNGICIDE

ALGAECIDE

REPELLENT

RODENTICIDE

ACARICIDE

PRESERVATIVE

FUMIGANT

NEMATICIDE OTHER

MOLLUSCICIDE

AVICIDE

Total number of registered pesticides = 15,211

from Office of Pesticide Services, VDACS

Active Ingredient of Conventional Pesticides Used in the U.S., 1980-2007

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Am

ou

nt

Ap

plie

d (

lb. x

1 m

illio

n)

Year

16.7% decline

from EPA website (http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/pestsales)

Estimated Amount of Conventional Pesticides Used in the U.S. in 2007

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Herbicides/PlantGrowth Regulators

Insecticides/Miticides Fungicides Nematicide/Fumigant Other Conventional

Act

ive

Ingr

ed

ien

t (m

illio

n lb

.)

Type of Pesticide

from A. Grube, Donaldson D., Kiely T., and Wu L. (2011)

Total Usage = 857 million lb.

Estimated Amount of Conventional Pesticides Used in the U.S. in 2007

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Agriculture Ind/Comm/Gov Home & Garden

Act

ive

Ingr

ed

ien

t (m

illio

n lb

.)

Sector of Usage

from A. Grube, Donaldson D., Kiely T., and Wu L. (2011)

One man’s beneficial, is another man’s Pest One man’s trash, is another man’s treasure

Money

Politics

Emotion

Environmental Fate of Pesticides

Ideal Pollinator – Honey Bee

• Year round activity

• Transportable population

• Capable of Flight

• 60,000 to 80,000 individuals in hive

• Hairy – Nearly 100% of body covered with hair – Plumose hair – Pollen basket

• Pollen and nectar are primary food source

Detected Agrochemicals in North American Apiaries

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Bees Wax Pollen

Pe

stic

ide

co

nta

min

ants

(#)

Sample Source

from Mullin CA, Frazier M, Frazier JL, Ashcraft S, Simonds R, et al. (2010)

Occurrence of Samples with Multiple Agrochemicals in North American Apiaries

0

2

4

6

8

10

Bees Wax Pollen Total

Me

an M

ult

iple

Pe

stic

ide

s (#

)

Sample Source

from Mullin CA, Frazier M, Frazier JL, Ashcraft S, Simonds R, et al. (2010)

Correlation of Fungicide Residues with Pesticide Contents of Pollen Samples

from Mullin CA, Frazier M, Frazier JL, Ashcraft S, Simonds R, et al. (2010)

Pesticide Impact on Honey Bee

• R. Fell, Tignor K. (2001) – Reduced drone fecundity – Reduced queen cell production

• J. Wu, Anelli C., Sheppard S. (2011) – Increased larval mortality – Delayed adult emergence – Reduced adult longevity

• L. Dahlgren (2012) – Reduced queen survival

• J. Berry, Hood W., Pietravalle S., Delaplane K. (2013) – Decreased brood survival – Increase queen supercedure

Winter Hive Losses in Virginia

0

10

20

30

40

50

Co

lon

y L

osse

s (

%)

Year

Overall colony losses of 32.9% during the period 2000-2014

Status of Bumble Bee Populations in Northern and Coastal Eastern States of the U.S.

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

Re

lati

ve A

bu

nd

ance

Bombus spp.

1900-99

2007-09

from S. Cameron, Lozier J., Strange J., Koch J., Cordes N., Solter L., Griswold T. (2011)

Impact of Pesticides

• Lethal – Broad spectrum – Toxicity to adult – Toxicity to immature – Lethal determination

• Dosage • Concentration • Time

• Sub-lethal – Weight loss – Shorter life span – Behavior changes – Reduced fecundity – Reduced immunity – Deformity – Mutation – Loss of habitat/food

source

Factors Affecting Pollinator Populations

• Environment –Temperature extremes –Climate change –Bloom dates –Drought

• Nutrition – Habitat loss – Food resources

• Genetics – Diversity – Isolation – Integrity

• Toxicants/pollutants – Point source – Non-point source