2010 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) To investigate the effects of several insecticides, primarily but not exclusively neonicotinoids, on honey bee mortality, foraging behavior, and overwintering success. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) The USDA lab has collaborative projects with APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) and with Israel (BARD grant pending) to study the effects of neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides which disrupts foraging behavior and increases mortality of honey bees. The APHIS project is focused in Worcester, MA and Staten Island, New York and involves sample gathering across spring, summer and fall for three years. The Israel study takes place at the University of Haifa, Israel and the Bee Research lab in Beltsville, MD and will study foraging and homing success of honeybees exposed to neonicotinoids at both locations. Travel demands to the New England sites and possible travel to Israel for liaison work would be disruptive to USDA staff and therefore can be absorbed by the University of Maryland, Baltimore under this agreement. 3.Progress Report In FY10 the movement of the insecticide imidacloprid was monitored in red maple trees in New York City and behavioral tests on bees following sub-lethal exposure with imidacloprid where conducted in Beltsville, MD. Pollen and whole flowers from red maple contained average residue levels of imidacloprid in the range of 5-15ppb, below the no observable effect level (NOEL) of 20ppb. Limited samples contained residues above 20ppb. Trees had been treated with imidacloprid using soil or trunk injections and soil injection resulted in higher residues levels compared to truck injection. Behavioral tests with bees exposed to sub-lethal pesticide levels are ongoing in Beltsville with no significant findings to report. The progress of this project was monitored during two face-to-face meetings between University of Maryland Baltimore and ARS and continuous exchanges of e-mails and phone calls during the experiments.