LAUSR

The environmental fate and persistence of sulfoxaflor is of significant interest given the potential for the insecticide to impact non-target organisms, particularly pollinating and aquatic species. In the present study we examine the potential for sulfoxaflor, a new sulfoximine insecticide, to undergo degradation and transformation in sediments and the aquatic environment. Following application of the active substance as a foliar spray or seed coating, sulfoxaflor can be found in the soil at a mass percent of up to 61% of the total applied concentration. The low soil KD of sulfoxaflor of 0.103 signifies potential for sulfoxaflor to undergo transport into nearby surface waters via groundwater run-off. In soils and sediments sulfoxaflor produces a sulfoxaflor-urea analogue with a varying half-life of 5.0 - 8.5 days depending on the sediment type. Once in surface waters, sulfoxaflor can undergo photolysis to a sulfoxaflor alcohol derivative with a half-life of 35 hours. The photodegradate demonstrates reduced aquatic toxicity to Daphnia magna, however the photolytic half-life may be too long to mitigate the acute toxicity of parent substance sulfoxaflor to Daphnia magna, which was found to have a 48-hour EC50 of 361 µg/L. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.