Pesticide risk during apple bloom differs between managed honey bees and wild native bees

During pollination, bees can be exposed to pesticides that pose a risk to their health and survival. Current pesticide risk assessments primarily use honey bees as a proxy for all pollinators. However, due to differences in foraging behavior and other life-history traits, honey bees may not be representative of all pollinators. Here, we used a 261-pesticide multi-residue screen to examine pesticide exposure and risk to five groups of wild and managed bees (honey bees, bumble bees, mason bees, mining bees, and carpenter bees) at 20 apple orchards in New York. We found that bees harbored an average of 6 pesticides at exposure levels of 130 parts per billion (ppb), while hive/nest matrices contained 13 pesticides at exposure levels of 930 ppb. Exposure varied substantially among bee species and hive/nest matrices, with bumble bees exposed to the greatest number of pesticides and honey bees experiencing the greatest levels of exposure (ppb). Risk from pesticides, measured via the Hazard Quotient, was above the United States Environmental Protection Agency acute contact exposure level of concern (EPA LOC) for 25% of honey bee samples, 50% of honey bee-collected pollen samples, and 30% of bumble bee wax samples, but below the EPA LOC for most wild native bee samples. These results indicate that honey bees are not an accurate proxy for other bee species in terms of pesticide exposure and risk during crop pollination. Furthermore, more careful scrutiny of pesticide usage is necessary to improve the sustainability of agricultural pollination.