Ground-nesting solitary bees and pesticide exposure in soil

Ground-nesting solitary bees, including Osmia brevicornis and Anthophora plumipes, show no significant impact on brood survival or nesting frequency when exposed to high concentrations of soil-bound Imidacloprid. The wallflower mason bee is identified as a model species for studying diet-pesticide interactions, particularly its preference for Brassica family pollen. Research reveals species-specific nutritional needs and that pollen quality affects pesticide metabolism in honey bees. Antagonistic interactions between sulfoxaflor and azoxystrobin reduce nectar intake in mason bees. Pesticide effects vary by species, chemical, and pathogen, with sulfoxaflor enhancing Varroa destructor reproduction in honey bee larvae and azoxystrobin synergistically increasing mortality from Paenibacillus larvae. Only sulfoxaflor increased honey bee mortality; none affected Nosema ceranae spore production. Sulfoxaflor-exposed honey bees showed altered immune and detoxification gene expression and increased sugar water intake when infected. Glyphosate and Crithidia bombi had no significant effect on bumblebees. Pesticide impacts were resource-dependent: Sivanto reduced offspring and foraging in Osmia bicornis when applied in buckwheat, and Amistar reduced bumblebee colony growth in Phacelia. Amistar and Closer reduced flower visitation and colony growth in bumblebees but not in Osmia or honeybees. No interactive effects were detected in semi-field studies. A systems biology approach reveals bistable outcomes in bee health due to pathogen interactions. A multi-species Environmental Risk Assessment tool is being developed, including the Bombus model for landscape-scale risk assessment. The PoshBee project developed MALDI BeeTyping® for rapid, high-throughput stressor assessment using molecular mass fingerprints, enabling immune and hemolymph profiling. Bottom-up proteomics and MALDI imaging mass spectrometry are building species-specific protein databases and histomolecular atlases. These tools aim to deliver a Bee Health Card for diagnosing stressor effects, with TRL6 target by project end and market readiness by 2025.