Speaking of APHIS, they have recently released a report which concludes that the use of imidacloprid against the Asian Longhorn Beetle does not pose a risk to honey bees. They found that imidacloprid residues were generally too low to detect. 

> ALB was first discovered in August 1996 in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Within weeks, another infestation was found on Long Island in Amityville, New York, after officials learned that infested wood had been moved from Greenpoint to Amityville.

> As part of the environmental monitoring program, USDA-APHIS analyzed for imidacloprid residues in flowers collected from imidacloprid-treated willow, horse chestnut, and maple trees from New York during and after ALB eradication efforts (USDA,-APHIS, 2002b; USDA-APHIS, 2003). With the exception of one maple flower sample (0.13 mg/kg), all residues were below the level of quantification or detection (level of detection = 0.03 mg/kg) over a 2-year sampling period. 

> Residues in flowers were lower than in twig and leaf residues, which are similar to observations in other plant species, such as corn and sunflowers. The risk to honey bees and other pollinators is expected to be minimal, based on expected residues from the proposed method of application and the presence of other nontreated flowering plants, both of which minimize exposure, and the available acute and chronic honey bee toxicity data for imidacloprid.

> Pollinator exposure to imidacloprid will be minimized by the fact that only treated trees and their associated flowers and pollen could have residues while other flowering plants in the area of treatment will not contain residues.

Chemical Treatment Study in New York City, New York, and Central New Jersey for the Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program
USDA Environmental Assessment, September 2010

* * *

> APHIS determined that program activities will have no effect on listed species in or near the program area. The program activities will also not have disproportionate adverse effects to any minority or low-income family or children in adherence with Executive Orders (EO) 12898 and 13045.

> The EA was provided to the public in August 2010 for a 30 day public comment period that ended on September9, 2010. No comments were received. Based on the evaluations in the EA and the lack of public comments, I have determined that there would be no significant impact on the quality of the human environment from the implementation of the preferred alternative and further find that an environmental impact statement does not need to be prepared.

Julie Spaulding
Forest Pest Program Coordinator Plant Protection and Quarantine 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
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