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How Pesticides Impact Pollinators

By: Yicheng Sun

Reviewed By: Rebecca Newbold

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Many households and farm lands spray for pest bugs, but did you know that these pesticides are also harming pollinators like bees? The beneficial aspects of bees as pollinators make them crucial for our society and agriculture development. With the recent events of colony collapse happening across the United States, safeguarding pollinator health becomes more important than ever. 


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Who are the pollinators 

Common pollinators include bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and bats. They are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food, sustaining our ecosystems, and maintaining our natural resources by helping plants reproduce. Among them, bees are most tightly related to agriculture production. Honey bees alone are responsible for between 1.2 and 5.4 billion dollars in agricultural productivity in the United States. (Southwick & Southwick, 1992) Studies have shown that bumble bees can improve crop yield and produce more economic benefits. Bumble bee colonies also do well in greenhouses, while honey bee colonies need to be outdoors. (Huang et al., 2024) The decline of wild bee species would have major consequences for pollination in natural and agricultural ecosystems. 



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The struggles of Pollinators 

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, most of the active ingredients  in insecticides affect insects’ nervous systems. In the United States, the most commonly used insecticides are the organophosphates, pyrethroids and carbamates. (EPA, 2025) These chemicals are harmful to pollinators and other beneficial insects. For bees, the negative effects after exposure include impairment of navigation, reduced foraging success, reduced longevity and reductions in reproductive health, among others. (Goulson et al., 2015)


Long term pesticide use in agriculture has large impacts on the environment and pollinator species. In a study during the 2007-2008 growing seasons in the United States, 92.3% of the collected bee, pollen, and wax samples had 2 or more pesticides detected. (Mullin et al., 2010) Other negative effects of pesticides are also widespread. Neonicotinoids and pyrethroids in particular have been shown to have harmful effects on many wild bee species by making the area uninhabitable to them (Guzman et al., 2024). Studies have also shown that bumble bees are particularly sensitive to some neonicotinoids, which could be driving stronger declines in those groups. (Goulson et al., 2015)



Table 1: Insecticide types that are harmful to bees and their commercial brand names

Insecticide type

Mode of Action

Common commercial brand name(s)

Nicotinoids 

Damages the central nervous system and can leave bees and pollinators more vulnerable to disease. 


Used in the control of sucking insects, soil insects, whiteflies, termites, turf insects and the Colorado potato beetle. 

examples list 

Bayer Advanced All-in-One Rose & Flower Care concentrate

DIY Tree Care Products Multi-Insect Killer

Ferti-lome 2-N-1 Systemic

Hi-Yield Systemic Insect Spray

Hunter

Knockout Ready-To-Use Grub Killer

Lesco Bandit

Marathon

Merit

Monterey Once a Year Insect Control II

Ortho Bug B Gon Year-Long Tree & Shrub Insect Control

Ortho MAX Tree & Shrub Insect Control

Surrender Brand GrubZ Out

Pyrethroids

Harm the peripheral and central nervous systems causing a hyper-excitable state, making it difficult for bees to survive when exposed to it.


Common pests controlled by pyrethrins include Flies, Mites (plant & poultry), Thrips, cucumber beetle, Japanese Beetle, Squash Bugs, Leafhoppers and Whiteflies. Effective against most agricultural insect pests; extremely toxic to fish.

Examples:

BONIDE

BotaniGard

Monterey Bug Buster-O

Monterey Take Down Spray

Monterey Fruit Tree Spray

Pyganic Specialty

Biomist®

Scourge®

Anvil®

Astro Termiticide

Mustang Maxx Insecticide

Tengard SFR Termiticide

ProZap Insectrin-X

OneGuard Multi MoA concentrate 

Pryronyl Crop spray

Pyganic Gardening insecticide

Source: United States EPA CADDIS

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Right now, US beekeepers are facing alarming bee colony losses due to colony collapse disorder,leading to 70% to 100% of their colonies collapsing over the past 12 months and to what the apiary industry is calling the worst bee die-off in U.S. history (Project Apis m., 2025). Insect pollination benefits around 75% of crop species worldwide and 88% of flowering plant species (Goulson et al., 2015), making them the backbone of food security and plant biodiversity. If pollination fails, we will lose reliable sources of many critical foods. Crops’ production yields will drop. Many ornamental plants in nurseries, and seed production industries rely on pollinator services too. The work of pollinators support the whole ecosystem, increase biodiversity and benefit farmers worldwide in agricultural values, which makes safeguarding pollinator health crucial for food security and agriculture production. 



How to help our bee friends 

  1. Consider using biopesticide as alternatives: Biopesticides are certain types of pesticides derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. (e.g. neem oil, baking soda) Biopesticides are usually inherently less toxic than conventional pesticides, and often decompose quickly, resulting in lower exposures and largely avoiding the pollution problems caused by conventional pesticides. Biopesticides also only affect the target pest and closely related organisms, in contrast to pesticides that may affect organisms in a broad spectrum. (EPA, 2024) 

  2. Read the label on the bottle before you use them: Review the label for Specific precautionary statements designed to protect bees. Consider using alternative products if the labels have key words like “highly toxic to bees,” “toxic to bees,” and “residues.” Toxicity is also measured by the amount that kills 50% of bees (LD50). (Hoover et al., 2006) It is important to understand the LD50 label and check the toxicity to bees on the LD50 table provided by EPA. 

  3. Beekeeper-grower cooperation: Beekeeper-grower cooperation is the most effective way to reduce bee poisoning. The cause of most bee poisoning incidents is a lack of information or awareness. Apply pesticides with residual toxicity when bees are not present or inactive. Inform beekeepers where, when, and what you are applying. Growers should tell the beekeepers what was sprayed before the scheduled arrival of the bees and what pesticides will be applied while bees are present. Growers should also consider their spray schedules and the establishment of no-spray buffers when coordinating apiary placement with beekeepers. (Hoover et al., 2006)




Sources:



Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, February). Insecticides. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/caddis/insecticides#tab-1


Goulson, D., Nicholls, E., Botías, C., & Rotheray, E. L. (2015a). Bee declines driven by combined stress from parasites, pesticides, and lack of flowers. Science, 347(6229). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1255957


Goulson, D., Nicholls, E., Botías, C., & Rotheray, E. L. (2015b). Bee declines driven by combined stress from parasites, pesticides, and lack of flowers. Science, 347(6229). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1255957


Guzman, L. M., Elle, E., Morandin, L. A., Cobb, N. S., Chesshire, P. R., McCabe, L. M., Hughes, A., Orr, M., & M’Gonigle, L. K. (2024). Impact of pesticide use on Wild Bee distributions across the United States. Nature Sustainability, 7(10), 1324–1334. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01413-8


Hoover, L., Johansen, E., & Sagili, R. (2006, December). How to reduce bee poisoning from pesticides. How to Reduce Bee Poisoning from Pesticides | Xerces Society. https://www.xerces.org/publications/scientific-reports/how-to-reduce-bee-poisoning-from-pesticides


Huang, X., Zhang, Q., Sheikh, U., Wang, Y., & Zheng, L. (2024). Bumblebee foraging dynamics and pollination outcomes for cherry tomato and pear varieties in northern China. Insects, 15(4), 216. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15040216


Mullin, C. A., Frazier, M., Frazier, J. L., Ashcraft, S., Simonds, R., vanEngelsdorp, D., & Pettis, J. S. (2010, March). High levels of Miticides and agrochemicals in North American apiaries: Implications for honey bee health. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0009754


Severe and Sudden Losses of Managed Honey Bees Across the Nation. Project Apis m. (2025, February). https://www.projectapism.org/colony-loss-information


Southwick, E. E., & Southwick, L. (1992). Estimating the economic value of honey bees (hymenoptera: Apidae) as agricultural pollinators in the United States. Journal of Economic Entomology, 85(3), 621–633. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/85.3.621


 
 
 

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