The American study, led by Dr Jeffrey Pettis, research leader at the US government bee lab in Beltsville, Maryland, has demonstrated that the insects' vulnerability to infection is increased by the presence of imidacloprid, even at the most microscopic doses. Dr Pettis and his team found that increased disease infection happened even when the levels of the insecticide were so tiny that they could not subsequently be detected in the bees, although the researchers knew that they had been dosed with it.
The message appears to be that if you make bees unwell by poisoning them via pollen and/or nectar, they are more susceptible to catching diseases:
The worry is that neonicotinoids, which are neurotoxins – that is, they attack the central nervous system – are also "systemic", meaning they are taken up into every part of the plant which is treated with them, including the pollen and nectar. This means that bees and other pollinating insects can absorb them and carry them back to their hives or nests – even if they are not the insecticide's target species.
Full article: http://www.independent.co.uk/environmen ... 89267.html
The article also contains links to some others which make informative reading.
If you want to know what garden chemicals contain imidacloprid (plus those containing other neonicotinoids), the Soil Assocation lists them here:
http://www.soilassociation.org/Whyorgan ... fault.aspx
There are also other links with further information, including an appeal to contact your MP.
) and have seen the rapid decline in their numbers over recent years.
