15 April 2015 EASAC report: neonics are a threat to the future of agriculture

The European Academies Science Advisory Council published last week a report on the consequences of the use of neonicotinoids on a series of endpoints: honey bees and pollinators, natural predators of pests, soil organisms, biodiversity, etc. The report was published by independent scientists, many of them not working directly on neonicotinoids. These scientists carried out a review of the open literature on the toxicity of neonicotinoids.

Among the main conclusions of the report are:

1. Protecting honey bees will not be sufficient to protect all pollinators. Due to their social structure, honey bees are more resistant to pesticides than wild bees.

2. Neonicotinoids have an important negative impact on natural predator of pests. Their absence induces an increased need of neonicotinoids and their the vicious circle goes.

3. Neonicotinoids are a threat to soil and water organisms. Those two compartments of ecosystems are very important for agriculture and biodiversity.