Pesticides killing off bees

Research that aimed to mimic conditions in the countryside, where bees come into contact with numerous different chemicals while searching for food, found the combined effects of the pesticides significantly reduced the success of colonies.

Researchers from Royal Holloway, University of London, exposed a common species of bumblebee to two types of pesticides, a pyrethroid and a neonicotinoid, over four weeks at levels they would encounter in the fields.

Using radio tagging to record the behaviour of bees from 40 colonies, which were allowed to forage outside, the researchers found that workers from colonies exposed to the neonicotinoid pesticide were less efficient at foraging, particularly collecting pollen.