Large-Scale Study 'Shows Neonic Pesticides Harm Bees' (bbc.com)

Long-time Slashdot reader walterbyrd shared an article from the BBC: The most extensive study to date on neonicotinoid pesticides concludes that they harm both honeybees and wild bees. Researchers said that exposure to the chemicals left honeybee hives less likely to survive over winter, while bumblebees and solitary bees produced fewer queens. The study spanned 2,000 hectares across the UK, Germany and Hungary and was set up to establish the "real-world" impacts of the pesticides... A growing number of studies have found evidence of a link between neonicotinoids and problems for bees... Data from this study has now been submitted to the European Food Standards Agency. EFSA's report on neonicotinoids in 2013 sparked Europe's temporary ban, and it is now preparing another comprehensive assessment to be released in November.
The BBC adds that "Bayer, a major producer of neonicotinoids which part-funded this study, said the findings were inconclusive and that it remained convinced the pesticides were not bad for bees."

Comments

Re:Uhhh timing?

[interkin3tic]

Counterpoint: DDT

More specific counterpoint:

Persistence in soils, waterways, and nontarget plants is variable but can be prolonged; for example, the half-lives of neonicotinoids in soils can exceed 1,000 days, so they can accumulate when used repeatedly. Similarly, they can persist in woody plants for periods exceeding 1 year. Breakdown results in toxic metabolites, though concentrations of these in the environment are rarely measured.

Source

Re:Well great.

[interkin3tic]

Given how useful honeybees are to agriculture, there could be significant lobbying efforts to get rid of it. I'd expect California to ban them given their willingness to regulate responsibly, and the facts that almost all the almonds of the world are grown there and bees are required for it. Maryland has already banned them evidently.