September 22, 2015

the impacts of neonicotinoids on bees

Since December 2013, the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides as seed coating in crops attractive to bees has been restricted across the European Union.

Calls for a large scale field-based experiment to determine the real-world impacts of these pesticides on foraging honeybees and wild bees in agricultural landscapes have been growing.

A team of scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is undertaking an independent pan-European, large-scale field trial to quantify the impact on honeybees (and wild bees) of two commercial neonicotinoids seed treatments in commercially grown crops of oilseed rape (‘Clothianidin’ Bayer CropScience and ‘Thiamethoxam’ Syngenta).

Two of the scientists came to the SMC to discuss the study design, progress, future timeline, why the study is funded by industry and how the results will help inform the European Food Standards Authority’s review scientific evidence relating to the neonicotinoid moratorium (Regulation (EU) No 485/2013).

Speakers:

Professor Richard Pywell, Sustainable Land Management science area lead, NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Professor William Sutherland, Miriam Rothschild Professor of Conservation Biology, University of Cambridge and Chair of one of the oversight groups for the study