Accumulation and variability of maize pollen deposition on leaves of European Lepidoptera host plants and relation to release rates and deposition determined by standardised technical sampling

BACKGROUND: Risk assessment for GMOs such as Bt maize requires detailed data concerning pollen deposition onto non-target host-plant leaves. A field study of pollen on lepidopteran host-plant leaves was therefore undertaken in 2009–2012 in Germany. During the maize flowering period, we used in situ microscopy at a spatial resolution adequate to monitor the feeding behaviour of butterfly larvae. The plant-specific pollen deposition data were supplemented with standardised measurements of pollen release rates and deposition obtained by volumetric pollen monitors and passive samplers. RESULTS: In 2010, we made 5377 measurements of maize pollen deposited onto leaves of maize, nettle, goosefoot, sorrel and blackberry. Overall mean leaf deposition during the flowering period ranged from 54 to 478 n/cm(2) (grains/cm(2)) depending on plant species and site, while daily mean leaf deposition values were as high as 2710 n/cm(2). Maximum single leaf-deposition values reached up to 103,000 n/cm(2), with a 95 % confidence-limit upper boundary of 11,716 n/cm(2). CONCLUSIONS: Daily means and variation of single values uncovered by our detailed measurements are considerably higher than previously assumed. The recorded levels are more than a single degree of magnitude larger than actual EU expert risk assessment assumptions. Because variation and total aggregation of deposited pollen on leaves have been previously underestimated, lepidopteran larvae have actually been subjected to higher and more variable exposure. Higher risks to these organisms must consequently be assumed. Our results imply that risk assessments related to the effects of Bt maize exposure under both realistic cultivation conditions and worst-case scenarios must be revised. Under common cultivation conditions, isolation buffer distances in the kilometre range are recommended rather than the 20–30 m distance defined by the EFSA. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12302-016-0082-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.