Introduction: Honey bees, bumblebees and solitary bees are the most important pollinators worldwide, on which 35% of global agricultural production depends (Blacquière et al. 2012 ). The declination of the bee problem is not just a Canadian problem, it is a global problem. Worker bees are disappearing and never returning to their hives, this is known as colony collapse disorder (CCD) and results in reduced colony growth and reduced queen production (Girolami et al. 2009; Whitehorn et al . 2012). In the agricultural sector, chemical insecticides are extremely important for agricultural production; they are responsible for conserving about a fifth of our harvest. Spraying insecticides produces many negative effects such as killing beneficial insects such as pollinators. One method to alleviate this problem was to coat the seed with an insecticide, such as neonicotinoid, so that when the plant germinates and grows, the chemical is distributed throughout the plant. The goal was to protect the plant from pests that consume crop tissue, without impacting pollinators or other beneficial species (Cresswell 2010). Risk characterization: Phase 1: Hazard/problem identification: neonicotinoids are applied to the surface of the seed and then distributed throughout the plant, giving the plant long-lasting protection from insects (Girolami et al. 2009; Marzaro et al. 2011) . Neonicotinoids pose a risk to many different insects, including honeybees, as well as arthropods, birds, and smaller mammals (Goulson 2013). Neonicotinoid is registered for use in 120 countries and for use on over 140 crops (Whitehorn et al. 2012). Airborne contamination can occur when seeds are planted and the insecticide can become airborne (Marzaro et al. 2011). Various concentrations of neonicotinoids have been found to be present in guttation