The Unknown Killer of Honey Bees: Neonicotinoids
by Sheridan Miller

Smoking cigarettes kills. Tobacco, pipes, cigars, we have all heard the PSAs. Yet many people continue to smoke. Why? Because, along with being incredibly carcinogenic, cigarettes and other nicotine laced items of their caliber, are extremely addictive. We know this; doctors have warned us, our parents have lectured us, our science teacher has shown us the videos with the bad teeth, and the tubes and the chemo. Nicotine is bad for our health. But did you know that nicotine also plays a huge role in the food we eat, and is one of the major contributors to the potential loss of thirty percent of our food supply? Nicotine laced Neonicotinoids or neonics as they are more commonly known, are one of the leading causes in the disappearance of the honey bees.

Neonicotinoids are a chemical pesticide first produced in the 1990’s to act as a safer insecticide. It was deemed safer in the sense that smaller amounts could kill more populations of insects than any pesticide before. Now there is irrefutable research which draws parallels between the death of honey bees and the distribution of neonics. If human beings have a chance of survival in this world, we need our bees. We won’t be able to keep them if we continue to advocate for the spraying of neonicotinoids. Insect lover or not, honey bees are imperative in a way that can’t be stressed enough. In order to keep them around, we have to stop them from smoking.

If you didn’t already know, honey bees are dying off at an alarming rate, with thousands of colonies collapsing each season. Colony Collapse Disorder is an ongoing and prevalent issue, which hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves because of the honey bees sting and their lack of sympathetic puppy dog eyes. Yet it is an issue which effects, we as humans more than almost anything else. Einstein put it best by saying “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the earth, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more humans.” While this quote is a bit exaggerated, it does speak to the profound impact honey bees have on human beings. Our relationship is a delicate one, and is being challenged every day as farmers spray crops with neonicotinoids in an attempt to yield more crops. All the while not realizing that the chemicals they spray, are leading to the incredibly fast decline of the one species that will keep mankind fed.

Neonicotinoids adversely affect honey bees in a variety of different ways. While neonicotinoids main goal is to kill other insects, honey bees are drawn towards them. This is particularly worrying, as honey bees usually have a good sense of the toxicity of a certain plant which they choose to pollinate. Bees use tiny sensors in their mouth called sensilla, which usually produce a bitter taste when honey bees come into contact with something toxic, prompting them to move on. Yet, honey bee’s sensilla do not work the same when put in contact with neonics. In fact, in a recent study, honey bees were given two options; a sugar solution, and a sugar solution laced with neonics. The honey bees chose the latter option every time. This is because the nicotine in the neonics triggers a similar release of dopamine in honey bees brains; almost identical to the reaction that happens when humans come into contact with the addictive chemical. Honey bees in the field have also been purposely seeking out those crops which have been sprayed with neonicotinoids. Thus, hundreds of colonies living near neonicotinoid sprayed crops have been dying. And they will continue to die unless we petition for a stop to these dangerous insect drugs.

We can stop Bayer from distributing this pesticide, and stop them from making money off the exploitation of an innocent species; a species which we need to harbor a symbiotic relationship with to ensure our survival. How can we stop them? By taking action, by petitioning the sale of neonics at places like Home Depot. By writing to our local government and complaining about the use of neonicotinoids in local fields. Or we can just spread the word to others. Knowledge is power. If we band together in our petitioning and knowledge spreading plights, we can help protect our posterity from the near starvation that would come with the extinction of the honey bees.