New pesticides regarded as “bee safe” could actually be causing harm to these vital pollinators when combined with other chemicals being applied to crops, according to a new study.
Since a range of bee-harming substances were banned in the UK and the rest of Europe, there has been growing pressure to find replacements.
[Editor’s note: Read ‘Gold standard’ assessing neonicotinoids: Field bee hive studies find pesticides not major source of health issues for more on neonicotinoids and bee health.
However, experts have voiced concerns that some of these pesticides may come with dangerous side effects of their own. While flupyradifurone has been marketed as a safer insecticide, it has the same mode of action and properties as neonicotinoids, the chemicals banned due to their link with global bee declines.
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In the new study, scientists at the University of California, San Diego….found the dual action of [flupyradifurone in combination with a common fungicide] led to abnormal behavior and death in many of the bees tested….Their work….was partly funded by the campaign group Avaaz, which played a major role in the effort to ban [neonicotinoids].
Read full, original article: New ‘safe’ pesticides to replace banned chemicals still hurt bees, scientists say
