Questionable suitability of OECD 237 protocol in risk assessment scheme

Persistent xenobiotics are potentially hazardous for the bee larvae despite that they are not directly exposed in contrary to adult foraging bees. The crucial phase of larval development is the first six days after hatching when young larva grows exponentially and during this phase larvae are potentially exposed to xenobiotics via diet. That is why the life cycle of honeybee is still a great challenge for scientists. OECD reflected “this need” and adopted the OECD 237 protocol (Honey bee (Apis mellifera) larval toxicity test, single exposure) on 26th July 2013. The protocol addresses the requirements formulated by the United States, Canada, and Europe to test the toxicity of chemicals compounds on larvae fed with spiked food under laboratory conditions in a tier1 strategy.