Greater potential for exposure of honey bees seems likely for dust particles deposited on flowers that may be present along the perimeter of fields or even within the fields themselves in some cases (e.g., no-till fields containing flowering weeds or a cover crop). Dust particles on flowers may be available to visiting honey bees for a period of days over a broad area inside and downwind of planted fields. When honey bees visit these flowers, the particles may become attached to their body hairs and transported back to the hive in the same way that natural pollen grains are transported. Whether such exposures result in adverse effects is probably a function of (1) the chemical load of the dust deposits, (2) the intrinsic toxicity of the chemical, (3) the frequency that forager honey bees visit dusted flowers and (4) the degree to which dust particles act like pollen grains in their size, electrostatic activity, etc.

While the CDRC has identified a number of mitigation options, an immediate need for research is focusing on two projects being funded by CDRC.

The first research project is to develop a greater understanding of the use by bees of flowering cover crops and weeds in and around cornfields during spring planting season and how this is influenced by vegetation management practices. The ultimate goal is to develop recommendations for best management practices that growers can follow in order to minimize exposure of forager honey bees to seed dust while maintaining as much forage for honey bees as possible. Native bee communities may also be affected by exposure through forage, an issue not addressed in this research.

The second research project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a new seed lubricant product by measuring deposition levels of pesticide dust in and around fields when commercially available neonicotinoid-treated corn seed products are planted using this new product in comparison to standard lubricants (talc and graphite). The product, developed by Bayer CropScience, has already had some field research in other countries, but none in North America.

The CDRC has taken the following steps: (1) Invited stakeholders from disparate perspectives to contribute funding and share equally in the oversight responsibility; and (2) Ensured that final decisions on technical interpretation of the study findings and content of study reports, publications and presentations will be made by researchers. The research will be conducted in multiple locations during the 2013 corn seed planting season.

"Stakeholders in this consortium are putting aside any preconceived bias," added Dr. David Inouye, a CDRC member representative. "I cannot think of any other instance in North America where this kind of cooperative venture has been attempted - we are working in an open and collaborative manner to bring sound science to best practice recommendations where corn planting and honey bee health interface."

The complete RFP is here as a separate document. The research proposals are due Friday, March 1. The CDRC will evaluate the proposals. Funding decisions will be made by Friday, March 15.