Title: Scarcity of pesticide data in New Zealand with a focus on neonicotinoids

Europe's 2018 neonicotinoid ban on outdoor use of clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam, there has been growing political, scientific, and public interest in further understanding the impact of neonicotinoids on bees and the environment. New Zealand is working collaboratively with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to reassess five neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, thiacloprid, and acetamiprid). To date there is no ublished information or outcome from the initiative.

This paper examines the trends in pesticide use in New Zealand, with a particular focus on neonicotinoids, to aid discussion on their use and associated risks.

Obtaining data on annual trends in pesticide quantities is challenging as there is no central collection of pesticide data across the agrichemical or regulatory sectors in New Zealand or Australia. Consequently, the true scale and frequency of pesticide usage, including neonicotinoids, remain largely unknown.

Although residues can persist and migrate in the soil, current regulations only consider the risk of foliar spray to protect honey bees, overlooking the potential risks to native bees, which primarily live underground, as well as wider lethal and sublethal impacts of residues on non-target organisms.

The lack of publicly accessible pesticide data limits scientific research on non-target and environmental effects is the key challenge to be overcome in order to better manage the impact of these pesticides on New Zealand (and Australian) ecosystems.

Felicia Kueh Tai, Grant L. Northcott, Jacqueline R. Beggs, Ashley N. Mortensen, David E. Pattemore (2025). Scarcity of pesticide data in New Zealand with a focus on neonicotinoids: A review. Science of The Total Environment, Volume 970.

Full-text available here



Attachments:
no nz data.jpg
Article: WeedsNews6775 (permalink)
Categories: :WeedsNews:neonicotinoids, :WeedsNews:bees, :WeedsNews:data management, :WeedsNews:research alert, :WeedsNews:New Zealand
Date: 15 March 2025; 2:04:54 pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time

Author Name: David Low
Author ID: adminDavid