Neonicotinoid pesticides impair bee navigation learning and reproduction at field-realistic doses, contributing to colony collapse and population decline.
Neonicotinoid exposure causes cognitive impairment in bees that manifests as difficulty finding their way home and reduced learning ability essential for foraging. While individual bee deaths may not be our primary welfare concern, colony collapse represents the welfare failure of millions of animals and the loss of pollination services for entire ecosystems. Regulatory restriction has proven effective where implemented.