Bees disoriented by low-level insecticide doses
Quentin Ceuppens
For the first time, an interdisciplinary French research team has found a link betweenbee population decline and an insecticide caused, not directly by insecticidetoxicity, but by disorientating bees and reducing their ability to return tothe hive. To carry out the study, researchers attached RFID microchips to morethan 650 bees. Foraging bees previously fed sugar water with a very low dose of thiamethoxam in a lab were found to have a significant incidence of failing toreturn to the hive. Thiamethoxam is an insecticide from the neonicotinoidfamily used to protect crops from certain pests, primarily through seedcoating. A simulation based on these results suggests that insecticides mayhave a substantial impact on bee colonies. The results were published in thejournal Science on 29 March 2012.
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