Researchers have examined the cause of chemicals used as pesticides among crops to find the link to the decline of bee population, and results have shown that a particular chemical called neonicotinoids, or neonics in simpler terms, can be attributed with the decline.
Since 2006, beekeepers have noticed that there is a rapid decline in bee population, but for over the years, researchers failed to find the cause of the decline, BBC reported.
The use of neonics among crops, particularly oilseed rapes, have been found to contribute to the widespread loss in bee population. The researchers have deemed the evidence as overwhelming and "conclusive."
The team of researchers are adamant that the use of these pesticides are responsible for at least half of the total decline of bees worldwide.
Although, industry sources claim that the results only reveal one factor over the whole problem. The sources stated that the study only determined a correlation between the loss in bee population with the aforementioned chemical, and not the ultimately the cause of the problem.
The recent study had just been published, but it is an accumulative effort among a number of team of scientists over 18 years worth of data. The scientists analyzed data from 1994-2011 of about 60 bee species in England, according to The Washington Post.
The study revealed that the use of these chemicals on crops not only affected population among bees, but also affected the numbers of other pollinators. It has been argued in recent years that it may do more harm than good, and now it has backed up by research.
It has been revealed that its effects extend to other insects, rather than the pests alone. In retrospect, the European Union have called a ban on multiple neonicotinoid-based pesticides, but the policy have made its way the United Kingdom due to a few loopholes, according to Nature.
The flagged pesticides had also made its way around the world, which also includes the United States. Studies conducted prior to the recently published study has only been limited to a short-term coverage, but the new study concludes that it tackled a worldwide, as well as long-term concern.
