Thu, April 7, 2016 4:00 PM - 4:00 PM H. R. MACMILLAN BUILDING.
The Faculty of Land and Food Systems is pleased to welcome Prof. Chris Cutler of Dalhousie University as a guest speaker for the 25th annual H.R. MacCarthy Lecture in Pest Management.
Thursday, April 7, 2016 | 4:00 pm
Room 154, MacMillan Building, 2357 Main Mall
Speaker: G. Christopher Cutler, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University
Title: Pollinator declines and pesticides: What’s the role of neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments?
Insecticides are often (but not always!) toxic to bees, and most people probably have at least some aversion to pesticides. It's therefore not surprising that insecticides, particularly the widely-used neonicotinoid insecticides, have become a lightning rod for debate over concerns of pollinator declines.
In this talk, I will attempt to contextualize the different aspects of this problem. I will briefly review what we know about pollinator declines, and point to some misconceptions on this issue. I will follow with a general overview of the fundamental principles and different elements of the pesticide risk assessment process for pollinators. I will conclude with a discussion of some work from my laboratory group, mainly field studies that have attempted to characterize the risks that dietary exposure to pollen and nectar from neonicotinoid seed-treated canola and corn pose to honey bees and bumble bees, respectively.
See the Faculty of Land and Food Systems for more information.