Short Summary: The Effects Of Neonicitinoids On Bees
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The Effects of Neonicitinoids on Bees
Neonicitinoids are pesticide that has been widely used on crops in many different countries to control both sucking and chewing insects, such as aphids and beetles. Chemicals within these pesticides bind to receptors of the enzyme nicotinic acetylcholine in insects which cause excitation of the nerves and can lead to paralysis and death (Pesticide Action Network accessed 9/11/15). The specific neural pathway is more abundant in insects than warm-blooded animals and even more so in bees because they have more of these receptors.
Bees have been unintentionally exposed to these pesticides through a number of different venues. Spraying during bee foraging times, dust from soil and machinery, excretory droplets from plants that have been treated, and contaminated pollen and water. Neonicitinoid pesticides are water-soluble and can withstand ultraviolet degradation allowing them to remain active for months and sometimes years.…show more content… While the benefits of neonicitinoids help control unwanted pests that can be detrimental to crops and smaller quantities of applied pesticides are effective, the loss of bees may not out weigh the benefit, as there is a large economic loss in not having a pollinator. In the United States beekeepers collectively lost an estimated 10 million beehives at an approximate current value of $200 each (The White House Office of the Press secretary, 2014). This in turn has raised the cost of renting honeybee hives from $50 in 2003 to $150-$175 per hive in 2009 (The White House Office of the press secretary,