We Need To Talk About Neonics
We Need To Talk About Neonics
These Popular Insecticides Are Linked To Pollinator Loss, Water & Soil Contamination, Even Human Health Issues
Have you heard of neonics? They are the world’s most widely used insecticides, also known as neonicotinoids. In use since the 1990s, these neurotoxic chemicals have been linked to massive bee losses, vast water and soil contamination, ecosystem-wide harms, and human health concerns, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Oh good, something else to worry about.
As you know, I get emails everyday from all over the country (and the world) asking for help. This email from Michigan really upset me.
We are at a loss to protect our small bee business and our bees. We have had our entire business decimated last October (more than 3 million bees poisoned) due to a neighbors multiple (11) applications of chemicals.
We supply beekeepers with queens, nucs, and boxes and honey to many local businesses. We have reached out to our local township officials, the Department of Agriculture, local news outlets, EPA, and have retained an attorney to fight for our pollinators. So far, we have had no results and fear our bees will again be poisoned this year. These noxious chemicals will be the death of us all! We are ready and willing to fight for our pollinators, be them natives or not. Any assistance would be so greatly appreciated.
Let’s talk about this important issue. Almost all of the world’s seed plants need to be pollinated. Life on this planet cannot exist without the help of our pollinators. These are the beautiful bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and other creatures that help carry pollen from the male part of the flower (stamen) to the female part of the same or another flower (stigma). The movement of pollen must occur for plants to become fertilized and produce fruits, seeds, and young plants.
It’s the birds and the bees! They sustain life on this planet.
Pollination Services
“Many people don’t realize that honey bees are not native to the U.S., or that they are actually a form of agricultural livestock rented out largely for their pollination services," said Erik Lichtenberg, professor in Agricultural and Resource Economics at University of Maryland (UMD) in a statement. “It used to be that you raised bees for honey, but today, pollination services account for the largest share of commercial beekeeper income, with honey as a secondary product.”
About 80 percent of the 1,400 crop plants grown throughout the world require pollination. Not only that, but pollination also results in larger, more flavorful fruits, and higher crop yields. These plants contribute to a healthy ecosystem helping stabilize our soils, clean our air, supply oxygen, and support wildlife.
Pollinator health should be a top priority. More than 100 crops grown in the United States depend on pollination.
“Pollination services add tens of billions of dollars to the value of agricultural crops annually and provide the backbone to ensure that our diets are both diverse and plentiful with fruits, nuts, and vegetables,” according to a 2022 USDA report.
That same USDA report recommends that serious consideration be given to pesticide use, especially neonicotinoid use, and insect growth regulators (IGRs) use on Tribal lands and that additional safety measures be established for these products to protect pollinator health.
The Toxic Truth
A growing body of alarming evidence shows the high costs of needless neonic use far outweighs the rare and often nonexistent benefits.
They have been on scientists’ radars since a 2014 report, when David Smitley, a professor of entomology at Michigan State University who works with horticulture industries on solving insect pest problems, included neonics in a timeline tracing the decline of honeybees. A 2014 Harvard School of Public Health study also linked low doses of neonicotinoids to colony collapse disorder.
Neonic-treated seeds are used on the vast majority of U.S. corn crops, and significant percentages of soybeans and other crops. Due to a federal regulatory loophole called the “treated article exemption,” the use of neonic seed coatings is not monitored by the U.S EPA.
According to the NRDC fact sheet:
Neonics kill insects by permanently binding to, overstimulating, and ultimately destroying their nerve cells. Insects poisoned with neonics often begin twitching, become paralyzed, and die. Even at small doses, neonics weaken critical functions of pollinators. In fact, the thin neonic coating on just one small corn seed can contain enough active ingredient to kill a quarter million bees or more.
Research links neonics to neurological, developmental, and reproductive harm, including birth defects of the heart and brain of humans. This is deeply concerning as at least half of the U.S. population is regularly exposed to neonics, with children facing higher exposure rates. In fact, a study of 171 pregnant women in the U.S. found that over 95 percent had neonics in their bodies, with the highest levels in Hispanic women, and detection levels were on the rise.
“For a long time people thought there were only ecological impacts of neonicotinoids,” said EWG Senior Toxicologist Alexis Temkin at the Silent Spring 2.0 conference hosted in May 2024 by the Chicago Center for Health and Environment. “But there’s a lot of emerging evidence that they are impacting reproductive health and also evidence that they can be neurotoxic, potentially impacting children’s brain development.”
What’s even more disturbing is that neonics are commonly detected in surface waters and groundwaters and have been detected in tap water samples in Iowa and other areas of the United States. Because neonicotinoids are water soluble, the leftovers absorbed by plants can easily wash into nearby waterways. More than half of streams tested across the country in both urban and agricultural areas contain neonics.
They are “systemic.” When applied around a plant’s roots or as a coating on a seed, they are absorbed by the entire plant as it grows, poisoning its nectar, pollen, and fruit. Neonics persist, travel, and concentrate in soil and water, spreading the threats well beyond the original application site.
Standard drinking water treatment does not remove these neurotoxic chemicals from water, so households that cannot afford or do not have access to extra water filtration face a greater risk of finding neonics in their tap water. The EPA does not currently monitor them in drinking water regulations.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported neonicotinoids in treated drinking water and demonstrated that metabolites can form from select neonicotinoids during disinfection processes where neonicotinoid metabolites and parent compounds react with chlorine, leading to potentially toxic next-generation disinfection byproducts.
Recent studies suggest that at least some neonics may harm people at lower doses, or exposure levels, than what the EPA currently considers safe. For some of the pesticides, independent research indicates that the current human exposure levels the EPA uses to assess safety, which of course are based on data submitted by pesticide manufacturers, may be as much as 160 times higher than a level that would adequately protect people.
To learn more, go to NRDC’s Fact Sheet on Neonics here.
Legislative Action
New York State enacted the first significant regulation of neonicotinoid pesticide use in agriculture in the nation.
The Birds and Bees Protection Act, signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, bans the use of neonic-treated seeds (the primary agricultural use of this pesticide) for corn, soybeans, and wheat starting in 2029, with exemptions granted for farmers who face significant pressure from pests. The act also prohibits the use of neonics for outdoor ornamental plants and turfs (such as lawns, gardens, and golf courses) beginning in 2027.
“This law is the type of legislative change North American birds desperately needed,” said Hardy Kern, director of government relations for the Pesticides and Birds campaign at the American Bird Conservancy in a statement. “Not only will the Birds and Bees Protection Act reduce threats from neonics in New York, it has laid the groundwork for other states to pass similar laws and is hard proof for federal regulators that neonic-treated-seed action is not only needed, it is wanted.”
Perhaps the most depressing part of this issue is that neonic corn and soybean seed coatings provide “no overall net income benefits” to most U.S. farmers, but they remain widespread, in part because of the influence of a few large corporations that produce both the seeds and the pesticides that coat them, according to this 2020 analysis.
And if you’re wondering who produces these products….
Top Companies Market Share in Neonicotinoid Industry: (In no particular order of Rank)*
Bayer AG
Hailir
Sino Agri United
QiLin Agricultural
Huasheng Chemical
Changlong Chemical
Huaxing Chemical
Tips for Pollinator Lovers
Become a citizen scientist and take part in a project that focuses on pollinators and their host plants. Examples include Nature’s Notebook, Project Budburst, Monarch Watch and many others. Some of these programs take place at national wildlife refuges. Contact your local national wildlife refuge to get involved as a volunteer.
The best way to attract beautiful butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators is to fill your yard with native plants.
Make the commitment to avoid using chemicals and to maintain your garden in a natural, organic way.
Plant milkweed. By planting milkweed in your own yard, garden or neighborhood, you’ll not only attract beautiful butterflies, you’ll be providing crucial habitat that will allow their caterpillars to survive. Find out what milkweed is native to where you live and how to get it.
Keep the conversation going in the comments below. Do you have tips for helping pollinators thrive? Ways to spread the word about this issue? Let us know!