Bees, such as honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees, are the backbone of the group of insects known as pollinators. They play a crucial role in the pollination of crops used for human food consumption.  To put this in perspective, let’s look at some facts.

• 35% of the world’s food crop depends on pollinators.[fn value=1][/fn]  In other words, 1 in 3 mouths are fed by food that is produced by the hard work of bees!
• In the United States alone, it is estimated that bees pollinate between $15-20 billion worth of crops.[fn value=2][/fn]
• Not only do crops need bees, but wild plants also rely on bees for pollination; 80% of the wild plants in Europe require insects for pollination.[fn value=3][/fn]

In the fall of 2006, beekeeping operations reported that they lost 30% to 90% of their colonies, necessitating research into the troubling concept termed, “colony collapse disorder” (CCD).[fn value=4][/fn]  In July of 2009, a group of entomologists and ornithologists met in a small village in France to discuss what has been called “the catastrophic decline of insects” all over the world.[fn value=5][/fn]  They noted that there has been a gradual decline in insect populations since the 1950s. One of the most notable insect populations in decline is pollinators – specifically, honey bees. At the time, the cause for the disappearance of insects was uncertain but probably includes a multitude of factors. However, this group of entomologists issued a spine-chilling appeal to their governments, stating:

“The brutal and recent collapse of insect populations is the prelude of a massive loss in biodiversity with foreseeable dramatic consequences for natural ecosystems, the human environment and public health. The systemic use of persistent neurotoxic insecticides in intensive agriculture and horticulture (neonicotinoids such as imadacloprid and thiamethoxam, and fipronil as a phenylpyrazole), which now form an invisible, widespread, toxic haze on the land, in water and in the air, is regarded as a principal cause of this collapse observed by entomologists beginning in the middle of the 1990s and followed by the decline of insectivorous and other bird species by the ornithologists.”[fn value=5][/fn]

Since then, a large amount of scientific inquiry and energy has been spent investigating the role of neonicotinoids on pollinator health. This group of chemicals was introduced in the early 1990s and they are now one of the most commonly used insecticides in the world. They work by binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the central nervous system and result in paralysis and death in target organisms.[fn value=5][/fn]  Neonicotinoids are frequently used as insecticides in veterinary medicine, urban landscaping, and in many industrial agricultural systems.[fn value=6][/fn]  Neonicotinoids exhibit an extremely high toxicity to most insects and a lower toxicity to vertebrates, making them ideal for use as an insecticide in industrial large-scale agriculture.[fn value=7][/fn]  Furthermore, they are water soluble and are readily taken up by plant roots and leaves, so they can be applied in a variety of ways including spraying foliage, soil drenching, and seed dressings.[fn value=6][/fn] [fn value=8][/fn]  They are taken up into target and nontarget plants systemically – meaning that they make their way throughout the entire plant.[fn value=9][/fn]

Treating seeds and soil with neonicotinoids is currently one of the most common applications for these pesticides; plants are saturated with these chemicals from germination. Not only does this method of application of pesticides ensure crops (and the soil) are saturated with chemicals, recent studies show it causes the dispersion of pesticides through the air. Contaminated dust is spread during the drilling that is a part of seed planting, which many pollinators, such as forager bees, then fly through. When applying neonicotinoids to seeds, the seeds become sticky and do not plant as smoothly as desired.[fn value=6][/fn]  Therefore lubricant powders such as talc and graphite are applied to the seeds to prevent them from sticking together during the seed planting process.[fn value=10][/fn]  These lubricants come in contact with the pesticides and, as dust particles, act as a carrier for pesticides. Tests show the concentrations of pesticides on these lubricant dusts are much higher than the lethal dose for honeybees.[fn value=10][/fn]

Concerns regarding the damaging effects of neonicotinoids on honeybees date to as far back as 1999 when reports of large honeybee losses were associated with the planting of treated maize in the spring.[fn value=8][/fn]  Data from investigation of these events and others found that, not only are mature forager bees affected by these poisons, but also those bees bring contaminated pollen back to the hive, ultimately killing young bees and newly enclosed nurse bees.[fn value=6][/fn] [fn value=11][/fn]

In writing this I can’t help but think about how many ways we are slowly destroying our environment with our modern agriculture processes. The very same properties that make these insecticides useful in industrial agriculture make them so disastrous for the environment.

The half-lives of neonicotinoids can exceed 1,000 days when they are applied to soil, so they accumulate when used repeatedly over the years. Any wild plants growing in these contaminated soils also take up the pesticides, potentially exposing honey bees to neonicotinoids in an uncalculated (or, unanticipated?) fashion.[fn value=6][/fn]  The breakdown products from these pesticides include toxic metabolites, although concentrations of these chemicals in the environment are rarely measured.[fn value=6][/fn]  Neonicotinoids are present in the nectar and pollen of treated crops, and in sap droplets that form on leaves (a favorite of bees), known as guttation droplets.[fn value=12][/fn]  Crops commonly exposed to neonicotinoids include maize, canola, sunflower and also the wild plants that are grown near these farmlands. Virtually all of the corn grown in North America (35.7 million hectares) is treated with neonicotinoids, with the lone exception being organic corn (0.2% of the total acreage).[fn value=13][/fn]  It should be pointed out that non-GMO corn that is not organic still may have been treated with neonicotinoids.

Not only are neonicotinoids used for crops, but they are also very commonly used in ornamental flowering plants that are grown in greenhouses and sold to consumers for their landscapes.[fn value=14][/fn]  The amount of neonicotinoids used for this type of flower production in nurseries is actually quite a bit higher than that used for field crops.[fn value=14][/fn]  If the higher amounts of insecticides that are used on trees and flowers designated for urban landscapes are transmitted to the pollen, soil and to nearby flowers, this represents another very real and dangerous mode of transmission that can seriously harm bee populations.

Worried about the bees? Worried about the environment? What can you do?

First it should be noted that organic standards in the United States never allow for the use of neoticotinoids, so when you purchase organic produce and food you are voting against the use of these synthetic chemicals in agriculture. Buying organic animal products is another way to ensure that you are not supporting the use of neonicotinoids. This is because neonicotinoid treated corn is fed to conventional livestock, however organic livestock must be fed organic corn that cannot be treated with neonicotinoids.  Another option is to buy pasture-based animal products such as grassfed beef and pasture-based dairy, as these animals are raised primarily on grasses.

Always remember to consider your impact on the environment, even when buying ornamental plants. Ask the nursery that you are purchasing your plant from if they used neonicotinoids (also called neonics) in the growing of their plants, or go to organic nurseries.

Become informed. Vote with your dollar.