New Study Shows Bees Encounter Neonics Frequently During Corn Planting

Farmers aren't the only ones buzzing around busily during spring planting season.Honey bees also pick up their foraging pace at this time of year, when pollen sources abound. That spells trouble, according to a new study from Purdue University.The study, led by entomologist Christian Krupke, concluded that more than 94% of honey bees in the state of Indiana are at risk of exposure to varying levels of neonicotinoid insecticides, including lethal levels, during corn planting.That exposure occurs when the insecticides, which are coated on individual seeds, "dust off," from those seeds during planting and the dust drifts beyond the field borders.The study also concluded that the neonicotinoid treatments in Purdue corn research plots from 2012-2014 did not provide any yield benefit.This research is sure to face pushback from neonicotinoid manufacturers and seed companies, for which seed treatments have become a steady and productive revenue stream over the past decade.