“Five years ago, bees made headlines when a mysterious condition called colony collapse disorder decimated honey bee colonies in parts of the United States (Science, 18 May 2007, p. 970). Now bees are poised to be in the news again, this time because of evidence that systemic insecticides, a common way to protect crops, indirectly harm these important pollinators. Two field studies reported online this week in Science document problems (http://scim.ag/MHenry, http://scim.ag/Whitehorn). In bumble bees, exposure to one such chemical leads to a dramatic loss of queens and could help explain the insects’ decline. In honey bees, another insecticide interferes with the foragers’ ability to find their way back to the hive.”
–Erik Stokstad. “Field Research on Bees Raises Concern about Low-Dose Pesticides.” Science 335.6076 (March 30, 2012): 1555. Web.