Bumblebees fall to neonicitinoid

Nigel Raine, an environmental science professor at the University of Guelph, has found that the neonicitinoid ,thiamethoxam, reduces the chances of bumblebee queens starting new colonies by more than a quarter.

The results were published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

"Bumblebee queens that were exposed to the pesticide were 26 per cent less likely to lay eggs to start a colony," Raine said of the research conducted in his lab with researchers from Royal Holloway, University of London.

"It was a bigger impact than I was expecting. And our modelling suggests it could have a major impact on population persistence and increases the chances a population could go extinct."