More evidence links pesticides to honeybee losses

It’s been three weeks since beekeepers filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to remove clothianidin — the pesticide widely suspected to be wreaking havoc on honeybee populations — from the market. In that time three studies have been released that strengthen the link between bee die-offs and neonicotinoids (neonics), the chemical family of which clothianidin is a member. Here’s what they found:

French researchers found that honeybees exposed to the neonic pesticide thiamethoxam had trouble finding their way back to their hives — no small problem for a foraging species. The researchers used computer models to conclude that the disorienting effect of chemical exposure could, under some conditions, cause a hive’s population to decline by at least two-thirds.

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