Bad Buzz: Studies Say Neonic Pesticides Hurt Wild Bees
A common type of pesticide is dramatically harming wild bees, according to a new in-the-field study that outside experts say may help shift the way the U.S. government looks at a controversial class of chemicals.
But in the study published by the journal Nature on Wednesday, managed honeybees — which get trucked from place to place to pollinate major crops like almonds — didn't show the significant ill effects that wild cousins like bumblebees did.
A second study published in the same journal showed that in lab tests bees are not repelled by the pesticides, and may even prefer pesticide-coated crops, making the problem worse.
Bees of all kinds — crucial to pollinating plants, including major agricultural crops — have been in decline for several reasons. Pesticide problems are just one of many problems facing pollinators; this is separate from colony collapse disorder, which devastated honeybee populations in recent years but is now abating, experts said.
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/bad-buzz-studies-say-neonic-pesticides-hurt-wild-bees-n346356