Pollinators
Pollinators are bees, birds, butterflies, moths, bats, beetles, and other flower pollinating visiting insects needed for the reproduction of 90% of flowering plants and 1/3 of human food crops. In particular, we depend on bees (native and honeybees) for the wide range of food we consume. According to a 2020 Cornell University report, sharp declines in bee and other insect populations have been linked to neonicotinoid use. Without bees and other pollinators we would not only lose many fruits, vegetables, almonds, chocolate and other foods we eat, but the disappearing insects would upset the ecosystem food chain.
Neonicotinoids (neonics) are used to kill sap-sucking insects and leaf chewing insects. They are systemic insecticides, meaning they are absorbed by the plant tissues and expressed in all parts of the plant, including the roots, leaves, nectar and pollen. Pollinators are harmed by the neonic residue and what was absorbed through the plant itself. Neonics target insects’ nervous systems with lethal efficiency and are highly toxic to pollinators, even in small quantities.
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A lethal dose of neonics for an adult honeybee is 15,000 times smaller than a grain of salt.
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In Connecticut, beekeepers lost 65.7% of their colonies in 2021, the third steepest losses in country suggesting possible similar catastrophic losses for Connecticut’s 337 native bee species. These losses threaten ecosystems and the 24 billion dollars worth of pollination pollinators provide to crops like apples, squash, tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries,cherries, and pears annually in the US.
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In a 2013 study published in the journal PLOS ONE showed that imidacloprid, a neonic insecticide, was the most common of the 60 pesticides found in honey-bee collected pollen at five sites across Connecticut.
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According to a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) study, 1 square foot of grass can have enough neonics to kill 1 million bees.
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New York Times article, New ‘Detective Work’ on Butterfly Declines Reveals a Prime Suspect highlights conclusions from a PLOS ONE study that indicates neonics exerted the biggest impact on the size and diversity of the butterfly populations in the Midwest during the study period from 1998-2014. Butterflies were exposed to the neonics that were absorbed into the plant tissue. The pesticide-related declines began in 2003, coinciding with the appearance and quick adoption of corn and soybean seeds treated with neonics throughout the midwest.
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Butterflies are a critical food source for other animals, especially to birds, during their life stage as caterpillars. Research has linked some bird declines to insect declines.
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A Community Scientist, Victor DeMasi, located in Redding, Connecticut has tracked butterfly decline that can be seen in this chart.
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Neonics affect bees foraging behavior, homing ability, and reproductive success impacting the pollination services bees provide.
Neonics kill bees