Comparison and Development of a Semi-Field Test Method for Bumblebees based on the recommendations from the Revised EFSA Bee Guidance and ICPPR non-Apis Working Group

The recently published “Revised guidance on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees” by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, 2023) provides a risk assessment scheme for bumblebees as representative for semi-social bee groups. Unlike honeybees, no specific protec-tion goal has been defined for bumblebees. Consequently, most member states of the European Commission agreed that higher tier studies should be generated more frequently to better under-stand and protect other bee groups in the context of risk assessment (rev. EFSA bee Guidance 2023, Chapter 10). The revised EFSA bee Guidance 2023 outlines three types of higher tier effect studies: field, semi-field and colony feeding studies. These studies aim to measure the magnitude of effects on specific study endpoints set for honeybees (such as colony strength, foraging activity, brood development, etc.) following a field-realistic, worst-case exposure to the plant protection product use under evaluation. For bumblebees, while the study endpoints are similar, they require tailored experimental and practical considerations due to the distinct life history traits of bumble-bees compared to honeybees. To date, no specific guidelines have been developed for higher tier testing with bumblebees. In 2016, the non-Apis working group of the International Commission for Plant‐Pollinator Relation-ships initiated a two-year ring-testing period (Klein et al., 2022) with the intention of validating and improving the proposed design of a semi-field method to assess pesticide effects to bumblebee colonies described by the former EFSA bee Guidance. In addition, Annex C of the revised EFSA bee Guidance 2023 presents a proposal for higher tier studies with bumblebees, which may be used until internationally agreed and adopted guidelines become available. Based on this background, we compared the available work and recommendations from the non-Apis working group and EFSA 2023, providing an overview of the different experimental set-ups with the focus on semi-field studies. Our goal is to propose a practically feasible and experimentally reliable study design, includ-ing several years of experience in GLP studies. Our findings indicate that the implemented test de-sign is robust and reproducible, suggesting it as an appropriate test method to investigate the ef-fects of plant protection products on bumblebees under semi-field experimental conditions

Tracing paper products and their associated sustainability effects in the countries of origin

• Around 113 million cubic meters wood fibre equivalents of finished paper products were consumed in the EU in 2018, of which 35% originated from other countries outside the EU (especially the USA, Brazil and Uruguay). • Employment, value added and global warming potential associated with EU consumption of paper products were evaluated for one of the main suppliers, Uruguay

Markt für Hölzer im Galabau: neue Arten, neue Regeln

Das Thünen-Institut für Holzforschung berichtet regelmäßig in DEGA über aktuelle Marktentwicklungen und Trends bei der Verwendung von Holz im GaLaBau. Gerald Koch zeigt, welche Auswirkungen das Importverbot für Sibirische Lärche aus Russland und die CITES-Listungen der beiden tropischen Holzarten Cumarú und Ipé auf den Markt haben

Krisenkommunikation im Netz: Wissens- und Wertekonflikte auf Social Media

Am Beispiel der Coronavirus-Pandemie wird aufgezeigt, wie auf X (ehemals Twitter) und Instagram über Informationen zum Coronavirus kommuniziert wurde. Anhand von Zahlen (wie Infektionszahlen, Tests oder der Intensivbettenauslastung) wird dargestellt, wie insbesondere zu Beginn einer langanhaltenden Krise, gezeichnet von hoher Unsicherheit, Zahlen zum Dreh- und Angelpunkt von Wertekonflikten werden können

Distribution and diel vertical migration of mesopelagic fishes in the Sargasso Sea – Species list

Artenliste der mesopelagischen Fische, die 2014 während der 373. Reise der Walther Herwig III gefangen wurden (inkl. Längen- und Gewichtsangaben)

Suitability of different sealer media for moisture uptake tests of wood

Partial sealing of surfaces of test specimens is essential for determining direction-dependent water absorption of wood. Preliminary tests with existing sealants showed limited applicability particularly for standardisation. The objective was to find new sealer material. The suitability of four different materials (bitumen, polyurethane acrylic resin, liquid rubber spray, aluminium tape) was investigated. Their sorption capacity and water vapor tightness were determined with an automated sorption balance. The experiments revealed that most of the used sealers were not diffusion-tight or showed outgassing. Only the aluminum tape seems to be suitable