Evidence for pollinator cost and farming benefits of neonicotinoid seed coatings on oilseed rape.

ABSTRACT: Chronic exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides has been linked to reduced survival of pollinating insects at both the individual and colony level, but so far only experimentally. Analyses of large-scale datasets to investigate the real-world links between the use of neonicotinoids and pollinator mortality are lacking. Moreover, the impacts of neonicotinoid seed coatings in reducing subsequent applications of foliar insecticide sprays and increasing crop yield are not known, despite the supposed benefits of this practice driving widespread use. Here, we combine large-scale pesticide usage and yield observations from oilseed rape with those detailing honey bee colony losses over an 11 year period, and reveal a correlation between honey bee colony losses and national-scale imidacloprid (a neo

SUBMITTER: Budge GE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4535276 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature