Working Group interpretation
Terms used in the mandate	Terms use in this opinion
Bees’ genetic variety	The term ‘genetic variety’ is more commonly referred to as ‘genetic diversity’. For this mandate, which is focused on managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) in EU, a total of 10 subspecies can be found over this range of distribution, namely, A. m. mellifera, A. m. carnica, A. m. cypria, A. m. cecropia, A. m. macedonica, A. m. adami, A. m. ligustica, A. m. sicula, A. m. rutneri and A. m. iberiensis, and the hybrid Buckfast. Other subspecies of A. mellifera can also be found in Africa and Middle East. Across EU, populations of A. mellifera spp. have varying degrees of introgressions, as determined using molecular markers. This information is also relevant when recording bees’ genetic diversity.
Bee management practices	When designing the specifications for the honey bee colony model, the MUST‐B WG described the main beekeeping management practices to be considered: –change in the number of workers –chemical control of Varroa –replacement of combs with brood –replacement of combs with feed sources –beekeeper category and experience –supplementary feeding. Further details are provided in EFSA (2016a,b, Appendix C)
Bee pathogens	The term ‘bee pathogens’ is commonly used, but is insufficiently precise. Rather, the term ‘biological stressors’, comprising infectious (bacteria, virus, microsporidia, etc.), parasites (Varroa) and predators (hornets), should be used.
Cumulative effects of PPPs	The term ‘cumulative effects of PPPs’ can be defined as being ‘effects from exposure to multiple PPPs from multiple routes or from combined exposure to multiple PPPs by a single route’ (EFSA, 2013a). According to the Directive 2011/92/EU2, under Annex IV, ‘effects on the factors specified in Article 3(1) should cover the direct effects and any indirect, secondary, cumulative, transboundary, short‐term, medium‐term and long‐term, permanent and temporary, positive and negative effects of the project’. The cumulative impact assessment (including cumulative effects) is a project‐level assessment, carried out as part of a response to the requirements of the European Environmental Impact Assessment (EEIA), Habitats and Wild Bird Directives, designed to identify potentially significant impacts of developments and possible mitigation and monitoring measures. All proposals for projects that are subject to the EEIA Directive (85/337/EEC) as amended by the Council Directives 97/11/EC, 2003/35/EC, 2009/31/EC and 2011/92/EU, must be accompanied by an Environmental Statement describing the aspects of the environment likely to be significantly affected by the project. These are covered by a set of guiding principles. Finally, additional definitions can be found in the MIXTOX Guidance (EFSA Scientific Committee, 2019) related to: –Cumulative exposure: combined exposure to multiple chemicals by multiple routes or combined exposure to multiple chemicals by a single route. –Cumulative risk assessment: the combined risks from aggregated exposures to multiple agents or stressors.
Synergistic effects of PPPs	The term ‘Synergistic effects of PPPs’ is defined as being ‘effects from toxicological interaction in which the combined biological effect of two or more substances is greater than expected on the basis of dose addition or response addition’ (EFSA, 2013a).
In‐hive environment and/or colony environment	In the EFSA scientific opinion on ‘assessing the health status of managed honey bee colonies (HEALTHY‐B): a toolbox to facilitate harmonised data collection’ (EFSA AHAW Panel, 2016), attributes related to the colony were identified and refer to the ‘in‐hive environment’ or ‘colony environment’: –the queen presence and performance –the behaviour and physiology –the demography of the colony –the in‐hive products –the biological stressors (infectious agents, parasites).
Monitoring	It is defined as checking regularly in order to perceive change in some quality or quantity (‘checking’ implies a measurement activity and ‘regularly in order to perceive change’ a measurement activity repeated over time). Monitoring techniques are techniques employed in the process of checking, observing and measuring events, processes or physical, chemical, biological and environmental phenomena.
Plant Protection Products (PPPs)	The definition of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) is included in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/20093. PPPs (may also be called as formulations or preparations) are often a mix of different chemicals and contain at least one active substance. For active substances, the same regulation gives the following definition: ‘This Regulation shall apply to substances, including microorganisms having general or specific action against harmful organisms or on plants, parts of plants or plant products, referred to as ‘active substances’’, which means that most often the constituent of a preparation, which is expected to trigger a stress to bees (e.g. toxic action) or interacting with other stressors, is the active substance. Most often, the constituents of the preparations which are not considered as active substances are inert materials or have weak activity compared to the active substance(s). However, some specific formulations may contain chemicals that are called as safeners or synergists. These constituents alone have low toxicity, but they are considered as components that can interact with the active substance(s) and change their toxicity. The properties of the PPPs that are relevant in the context of this scientific opinion are largely determined by the active substance(s) that it contains. Therefore, this scientific opinion, which is on the development of a risk assessment of multiple PPPs in honey bee colonies, focuses on the active substance(s) of the formulations.
Stressor and factor	A stressor is defined as any physical, chemical or biological entity that can adversely affect bee health (EFSA AHAW Panel, 2016). A factor is an attribute of the environment, colony or individual that modulates the adverse effect of stressors on bee health.
Surrounding landscape	According to EFSA (EFSA AHAW Panel, 2016), external drivers influencing honey bee colony health were identified and among them, the resource providing unit (RPU) refers to the ‘surrounding landscape’ and ‘is defined in terms of the environment components or units responsible for the genesis and regulation of the resources for a colony’. The shape and the area of the RPU are defined by the maximum foraging distance reached by the bees of a given colony in all the possible directions starting from the hive. The structural (e.g. position and dimension of different crops in the RPU) characteristics of the RPU provide information on the availability, type, amount and accessibility of the resource. The RPU can be divided into subunits or patches, which are considered homogeneous areas from a resource production point of view (EUNIS, 2007; cited in EFSA AHAW Panel, 2016).