Field studies

Semi-field (tunnel or tent) and full field studies with honey bees and bumble bees represent higher-tier investigations conducted in accordance with current EPPO and OECD recommendations. These studies are required when lower-tier assessments indicate a potential risk of a pesticide to bees, or when the product is identified as an insect growth regulator (IGR).

In semi-field studies, small bee colonies are confined within field cages and forced to forage on treated flowering crops. This design is intended to simulate realistic worst-case exposure conditions under controlled yet environmentally relevant circumstances.

In field studies, honey bee colonies are placed within or at the edge of large flowering crop fields. The study sites are selected to ensure that bees are primarily exposed to the treated crop where the hives are located, thereby allowing evaluation of potential effects under realistic agricultural conditions.

• OECD 75: “Guidance Document on the Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) Brood Test under Semi-Field Conditions”
• Oomen et al. 1992: Honey Bee Brood Feeding Study
• EPPO 170: Honey Bee Field Study
• Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Larval Toxicity Test, Repeated Exposure, OECD GD 239