Abstract Neonicotinoid insecticides have been signaled as an important driver of widespread declines in bee diversity and abundance. Neonicotinoids were registered in the 1990s and by 2010 accounted for one third of the global insecticide market. Following a moratorium in 2013, their use on open-field crops was completely banned in the EU in 2018. Pesticide regulation should be based on solid and updated scientific evidence, whereby products showing unacceptable effects on the environment are not approved. Clearly, pesticide regulation failed to detect the ecological threats posed by neonicotinoids. We argue that at the time neonicotinoids were authorized, risk assessment (RA) protocols were inadequate to detect some of the risks associated with neonicotinoid properties, including high efficacy, long persistence, high systemicity, high mobility, and application versatility. We advocate for the adoption of a more holistic RA approach that should account for: a) temporal and spatial dimensions of pesticide exposure; b) co-exposure to multiple compounds; c) differences among bee species with different life histories in levels of exposure and sensitivity; and d) sublethal effects (mostly ignored in current RA procedures). We also argue that regulatory studies conducted to support pesticide registration should be publicly available, and that pesticide regulation should not be discontinued once a product has been authorized. We should use the knowledge acquired through the neonicotinoid experience as an opportunity to profoundly revise bee RA schemes. These efforts should be initiated promptly; the neonicotinoid story has also taught us that the regulatory system is reluctant to react.

中文翻译：

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蜜蜂和农药监管：新烟碱经验的教训

摘要 新烟碱类杀虫剂已被认为是蜜蜂多样性和丰度普遍下降的重要驱动因素。新烟碱类药物于 1990 年代注册，到 2010 年占全球杀虫剂市场的三分之一。继 2013 年暂停使用后，欧盟于 2018 年完全禁止将其用于露天作物。农药监管应基于可靠且最新的科学证据，因此不会批准对环境产生不可接受影响的产品。显然，农药监管未能发现新烟碱类物质带来的生态威胁。我们认为，在新烟碱类药物获得批准时，风险评估 (RA) 协议不足以检测与新烟碱类药物特性相关的一些风险，包括高效、持久、高系统性、高流动性、和应用的多功能性。我们提倡采用更全面的 RA 方法，该方法应考虑： a) 农药暴露的时间和空间维度；b) 共同接触多种化合物；c) 不同生活史的蜜蜂在暴露水平和敏感性方面存在差异；d) 亚致死效应（在当前的 RA 程序中大多被忽略）。我们还认为，为支持农药注册而进行的监管研究应该是公开的，一旦产品获得授权，就不应停止农药监管。我们应该利用通过新烟碱类经验获得的知识作为深入修改蜜蜂 RA 计划的机会。应立即开始这些努力；新烟碱的故事还告诉我们，监管系统不愿做出反应。