Hunt bumble bee – Bombus huntii
For years, risk assessments for pesticides have examined how bees might be exposed to them when used, but up to now these assessments have used honey bees (Apis mellifera) as the stand-in for all bees. But the bee realm is far more diverse than the Apis genus of honey bees, and entomologists and other researchers are now trying to improve risk assessment protocols to account for the differences between honey bees and bumble bees (such as Bombus huntii, shown here), solitary bees, and stingless bees. A new special collection in Environmental Entomology examines existing research on pesticide exposure routes for non-honey bees and how risk assessment protocols might be improved to account for the differences between honey bees and non-honey bees. (Photo credit: Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org)