Exposure and effects of pesticide mixtures on bees (MixToxBee)

In the MixToxBee project, we aim to quantify environmental levels of exposure to pesticide mixtures for bees in agricultural landscapes and review, test and model effects of pesticide mixtures on bees at individual, colony and population levels. Our work aims to contribute new methods for pesticide monitoring in terrestrial environments and for assessing the risk of chemical mixtures to bees.

This is done by meeting four objectives that relate to the four work packages in the project:

1. Estimate exposure to pesticide mixtures for multiple bee species in intensively managed Swedish agricultural landscapes (WP1).
2. Review and experimentally test effects of environmentally relevant pesticide mixtures on bee individuals and colonies (WP2).
3. Evaluate effects on bee populations of exposure to pesticide mixtures using ecological models (WP3).
4. Synthesize implications for new monitoring of pesticides in terrestrial environments and risk assessment of chemical mixtures on bees (WP4).