Dr Julian Little, Crop Science Bayer UK

“Neonics were first introduced as seed treatments to protect crops such as oilseed rape, cereal and sugar beet, from damaging insects and the diseases that they carry. They were very safe to farmers compared to the products that they replaced, such as organochlorines and carbamates. They are applied to the seed before planting and therefore only control insects that eat the plant, making them a more targeted approach to controlling pests than spraying a whole field with an insecticide such as a pyrethroid. The results of the CEH study were perplexing since, although some small negative effects of

neonics were seen on honeybees in the UK, those foraging on treated oilseed rape in Germany actually fared better than those on untreated plants. No realistic explanation for this has yet been given. The data on the effect of treatments on wild bee populations is equally mixed. The paper in Science magazine suggests that statistical effects could be seen, but even a cursory look at the graphs shows that in the UK, the accumulation of neonics in bees’ nests has no effect on the viability of the nest nor on queen production.† Insecticides are used by farmers trying to grow safe, quality food, and gardeners in their allotment or in their gardens. They are used for a reason. In the case of oilseed rape, it has been increasing difficult to grow the crop because of insect damage, to the point that one in four fields has disappeared in England since the 2013 ban on neonic use came into force. This is bad news for farmers and bad news for pollinating insects that use oilseed rape as a food source. Finally, it is worth noting that according to EU data, since the introduction of neonics in the 1990s, the numbers of bee hives in Europe have actually gone up from around 11 million hives to over 15 million in 2016.” • Dr Julian Little is Head of Communications & Government Affairs at Crop Science, Bayer UK