The project will investigate the effects of three commonly used fungicide active ingredients during flowering of almond and canola on the health of honey bee brood. The active ingredients tested will be selected from those most commonly used by the industries.
A literature search will underpin a literature review investigating known effects of fungicides on the health of adult workers, nurse bees, brood, overall hive performance and on native bees. For the three active ingredients used, the impact of their presence in pollen will be assessed for (a) survival of nurse bees, and (b) their hypopharyngeal gland development. For ingredients that show significant impact on nurse bees or their hypopharyngeal gland development, the effects on larval development will be investigated.