Some news on this long dormant thread from NewScientist (6 August 2016) noting research indicating a lower sperm count for the bees:
Neonicotinoid pesticides, neurotoxins used in agriculture that kill many types of insects, also cut honeybees’ live sperm count by almost 40 per cent, found Lars Straub of the Institute of Bee Health at the University of Bern, Switzerland, and his colleagues (Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, doi.org/bm6x).
However, we can’t yet be sure if this is the main reason behind the major decline in bee populations, he says, because many factors are probably playing a part.
From the cited Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences article we can learn that when we apply a chemical and a bug dies, we’re happy and keep on doing it:
Advances in agrochemical research highlight a lack of knowledge of the sublethal effects of insecticides on their target insect pests [10], as well as on sympatric beneficial insects such as bees that provide vital ecosystem services [11–13]. Frequently applied neonicotinoid insecticides can affect the nervous system of insects by acting as agonists of postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors [14–16]. Recently, they have been shown to elicit sublethal effects on several bee genera, such as impairing bumblebee queen (primary reproductive females) production and diminishing honeybee queen reproduction [17,18]. However, to date no data exist on how neonicotinoid insecticides may affect male insect reproduction.
In an odd way, this is similar to the way Israel is threatening its own water supply by punishing the Palestinians.
